


Tea and Cola

by Kuugenthefox



Category: Girls und Panzer
Genre: F/F, Yuri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2018-09-12 01:12:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 136,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9049297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kuugenthefox/pseuds/Kuugenthefox
Summary: An important piece of information falls in Kay's lap and she devises a genius plan to win this new and exciting competition Saunders is participating in.But her plan involves Darjeeling, and the commander of St. Gloriana is more than she expected.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Another patreon request and I really enjoyed this one. This is the last patreon work for 2016, but hopefully not the last update for 2016
> 
> Happy Holidays, everyone and Panzer Vor!

"All right, listen up!" Kay was shouting, almost screaming at her fellow tank enthusiasts, the Panzerfahren team of Saunders. "Big news! Like seriously big news! So big, I was like **wow, is this for real** until they handed me the rulebook!" Waving an 115 page thick rule book around, which were all supplementary rules and exceptions to existing Sensha-Dou rules. "But fret not, I'm gonna break the news-ow, Naomi, what was that for?"

"You're leading them on." Blowing a big bubble from the rare red bean paste flavored bubblegum she had ordered online, the short haired gunner of Kay's personal tank put her leader back in line.

"Long story short, after 3 years and change, the International Panzerfahren Committee has finalized the rules for the Kriegsmachine Festival." Kay had practiced saying that word on her way to the hangar, where all the members were waiting for their leader to show up.

"The what?" One of the girls asked.

"A big no holds barred extended competition that simulates a real war with real tanks! It's a free for all between however many schools sign up and there is tons of extra rules. Usually the match lasts for a few hours, right? This special competition can last weeks! We're given supplies to set up camp, there are air drops that we have to chase after for rations and stuff, we have to protect our tanks against sabotage and we can even mess with other teams out of tank. We can infiltrate, steal from them, even kidnap people, but it's all regulated to hell and back so there's no foul play." Kay glanced at Alisa. She had already told her that if she messes up, the staff is going to be quick to disqualify all of Saunders. "It's like a real war."

There was a moment of silence while everyone processed these news and then rampant chattering broke out. "Woah, woah, stop! I'm super excited too, but there's some really big caveats! The principal said that if we want to attend, we have to make sure we win and heck yeah we will win. The other big caveat is that we hafta meet the rule requirements and that's a bit of a problem."

Alisa grumbled something that sounded like _idiotic rule_ under her breath and Kay ignored her deliberately. "First, we gotta double practice because we need to get some out of tank maneuvers down pat. We're getting paint guns since real guns are obviously totally no go, so we gotta practice shooting and stealth. We'll make the American military look like scrubs after we're done!" Kay didn't really believe that but she had to get her girls riled up. "I already got to try shooting one of those babies and it's hella fun! Hurts a bit when you get hit but not nearly as much as the ringing in your ears when your tank gets a full broadside."

The hangar was full of super excited girls now. They would get to do operations outside of tanks like real infantry? That was new and super unexpected.

"But wait, there is more!" Kay had one last ace up her sleeve before she dropped the big bomb on everyone. "The school that wins the competition will not only get to call themselves the national champions of Japan but also, and I am serious, the winning team gets a big fat bonus to their budget! They didn't tell me exactly how much but they said **approximately three times of our half-yearly budget!** "

The room exploded like Kay had just had her M4 Sherman fire into the crowd. There were loud questions _Seriously_ and a few of the girls were jumping up and raising their fists to the sky, shouting in preemptive victory. The mood was starting to escalate, with one of the more shameless girls taking off her uniform and whirling it around.

"You riled them up too far, Kay." Naomi could tell that Kay realized this too.

"If you're **that** excited, the final hurdle will be easy-peasy for you!" Kay felt the mood drop just slightly. "… there is one more caveat." Kay was not excited about this one either. "All schools got kinda a national theme going, right? We're pretty American themed and for the competition, all teams are required to speak the designated language for their theme country."

There was unanimous outcry about this. "Yeah, yeah, I know, English is bloody hard! It sucks! But the fun! The money! Our glorious victory! We got 4 and a half months before the competition and the principal is having a real life American fly in drill some real American English in our heads. Like they say over there, **Hell yeah, lets do this**!" Kay didn't know if they actually said that over in America. She had never even been close to that country.

=== Tea and Cola ===

_Four and a half months later_.

"Внимание!" Nonna shouted as loud as she could, her subordinates surrounding their tanks in heavy winter gear; fur hats, fur boots and heavy jackets, all reminiscent of the Soviet Union military. "Вольно!" Nonna, despite Katyusha's complaints, shoved a wooden stool in front of her, Katyusha taking the stage herself.

"Товарищи! [It's almost time to show those other schools that there can be only one victor in this grand battle and that it is rightfully Pravda's! We'll smash them like bugs with our superior might! Look, even the gods of winter are on our side! The snow and cold is our element!] Приготовьтесь к битве!"

The Kriegsmachine Competition took place on a special super large carrier that was owned by the committee itself. A prohibitively expensive, colossal ship that dwarfed even most school ships. The goal was to make Panzerfahren a famous sport worldwide and hopefully making it eligible as an Olympic discipline.

The super carrier, The **Warship** , was long and wide enough that it was moving at a snail's speed, at best. All the other schools had to come there to off load their tanks and attend. Various translators, all specializing in translating foreign languages into Japanese, were present on broadcast stations. Unmanned flying drones circled the ships, over a hundred in total, and every tank came equipped with a special broadcast antennae that was prohibited from being hacked because it fed the broadcast station with audio.

The northern third of the carrier was artificially kept cold, simulating the cold winters in the Soviet Union, Northern America and the northern European countries. The southern part was the opposite, simulating the hot summers in southern Japan, the southern reaches of Italy and Spain and so on.

Kuromorimine Girls High School was situated in the temperate zone, a more than sixty square kilometer large zone that was in the center of the carrier. They too were preparing for battle. It was just after high noon and the battle was set to commence at 12:30 PM. "Stillgestanden!" Maho Nishizuma, Overall Commander of the public favorite to win the competition, was addressing her troops. While Saunders and St. Gloria learned English, Pravda was taught Russian and Kuromorimine had to learn German, which was quite the trial of endurance for them.

"[We are about to participate in history. The first ever Kriegsmachine competition, a great battle royal between all willing high schools in Japan, is about to commence with us as its center point. Make no mistake. It is not our desire to win. We are not participation with the intention of fighting off the Russians, the Americans or the British. Is it but our duty to achieve complete victory! To prove victory with our infallible tactics and might! We are the people's hope. We are the pride of Germany!]"

Maho's speech was not as well received as she had hoped because not all of them spoke German well enough to understand all of it. "Erika."

"General Major Nishizumi." Erika slammed the heels of her boots together and saluted. "[A more… simplistic manner of addressing the troops might be worthy of your consideration.]"

Maho cleared her throat, put her heels together and saluted before raising her hand. " **Sieg** **Reich**!"

=== Tea and Cola ===

Three days had passed since the battle begun and Kay was glad that Saunders had such a large amount of tanks. "[How are repairs coming]?" Her role had expanded from just commanding her girls and tanks in battle to literally running a small army and she did her best to avoid being crushed by it. _Everyone else has to be struggling with the same issues. Shortage of supplies. The prolonged camping, meaning putting up new camps or protecting old bases. And morale. We lost 12 tanks over three days so far. Damn Pravda, we shouldn't have chased them into the cold zone_. Kay was a good commander but not an exceptional one. She definitely was not made for running an army by herself.

"[Repairs on three M4A1 Sherman's will be done before light breaks. We're short spare parts to repair the M4A6 Shermans that got damaged. If we cannibalize one of the undamaged M4A1, we can put all four of the M4A6 back in service.]" One of girls that had previously worked as a driver was doubling as a mechanic. Her short, brown curly hair was in dire need of a shower and her face was covered in grime and smears of oil.

"[Do it. Have the scouts come back yet?]" Kay was a little overwhelmed with everything. Naomi luckily handled supply management for her and Alisa handled scout assignments and raiding parties. That left Kay with general base and personnel management, battle commanding and every truly important decision. A battle was usually over within a few hours. This competition was really pushing her to discover new skills and new sides of herself.

A sharp whistle sound caught her attention. _The scouts are back_. Sabotage at night was an important aspect of warfare. After listening in on the transmission frequency that Chi-Ha-Tan used, Saunders learned that Pravda had torched their base camp and stolen all of their supplies. _They must be holding out on willpower alone out there._ Kay had always been optimistic about fighting and she preferred to play fair, but in this competition, sabotage was fair game. And to stand against a chance against Kuromorimine and their insane tenacity, she needed every advantage she could get. They had found Pravda's and Kuromorimine's transmission frequencies earlier that day but since none of them spoke even a lick of Russian or German, it was completely useless to them.

"[Hurry up!]" Alisa's angry voice echoed from twenty or so meters away. Of the eight girls dispatched as scouts, five were still on their feet, including Alisa. Two had been shot and been grazed. Another had been shot and hit right in the shoulder. The paint bullets hurt but not more than a half-serious punch from Kay hurt. "[Get her to the medic right away!]"

The medics were basically just medics in name only. Since the injury was superficial at worst, their job was to determine what damage the shot **would** have caused if it was a real bullet. They were not affiliated with Saunders directly but supplied from the staff and completely impartial.

"[What happened?]" Kei's English was above passable and she could hold a decent conversation, although she sometimes forgot a word or two in her instructions during combat. And the word _shit_ slipped out a lot since the competition had begun.

"[Not out here.]" Alisa shook her head and pointed to Kay's tent, which was just slightly larger than the others and a dark green and brown.

They all had genuine second-hand military tents from America. Saunders had spared no expense to make them as genuinely American as possible and it paid off. The broadcast of Saunder's activities pulled in more than 60 million people worldwide, more than 50 million of those from foreign broadcast stations that just re-broadcast the feed and cut out the translator and supplied their own. Over the last three days, Panzerfahren had become gradually popular in the eyes of foreign nations.

"[We ran into a scouting troop from Ooarai and they opened fire on us from atop a hill.]" Despite being the one that bemoaned the English classes the most, four of them every day, Alisa was almost at the top of her class now. "[We returned fire and I want to say I am pretty sure we hit one of them lethally, but that is not really why we hurried back. Nor is it that Mayushi got shot. On our way back, we had to shake Ooarai and by complete coincidence we found an enemy camp. St. Gloriana is only about five kilometers to-]" Alisa took out a compass from her pocket. "[East. Kay, we can't waste this chance. I am absolutely certain they didn't spot us. Their guards were drinking tea, for fucks sake!]"

"[Get everyone that scored A in the drills together. We'll give Darling a little midnight visit.]"

"[Darling? You… Kay, you laid your hands on someone in St. Gloriana?]" Alisa had always suspected that Kay swung that way. There were not many other reasonable explanations regarding her lack of boyfriends.

"[It's a joke, a joke! St. Gloriana's commander is Darjeeling, right? Just cut out some letters and it becomes Darling!]" Kay really wished her subordinates would appreciate her sense of humor some more.

"[Roger!]" Alisa quickly saluted, the same way the American Army did, and walked right out of the tent.

_I really wish they would permit us to at least talk in Japanese in private._ All the English was getting to Kay. She even had nightmares about being stranded in an American army base and everyone speaking in really complicated and formal terms and not being able to communicate. For over four months, they had twenty hours of English lessons per week, supplemented by self-study on weekends and having to put what they learned to use during infantry drills. They had gone and absolved a hellish training regimen to win. They **could** talk in Japanese if they whispered to each other so the audio couldn't be picked up but they were asked by the broadcasters to keep that to a minimum.

Alisa rounded up twelve people. Ten of them were going to be a decoy while Kay and she herself were going to nab their commander. Capturing a commander didn't have any immediate effect under the rules as the next highest ranking member of St. Gloriana would just take command temporarily. But it gave them great leverage with St. Gloriana and even other teams. Kay, however, secretly had other plans.

Outfitted with night vision goggles, courtesy of an American sponsor, the Saunders squad set off without much of an explanation beyond what Alisa told them. Their goal was to put the St. Gloriana base camp under fire and raise hell.

"[No sign of Ooarai.]" One of the girls that was an especially good shot with a sniper rifle, of which even Saunders only had four total, reported in over their short range radios. "[3000 meters to target.]" Imitating American military as much as they did, they still couldn't make sense of the strange non-metric system the Americans used.

Kay was wielding an M4 Rifle, loaded with cartridges that fired paint bullets leaving behind the Saunders signature blue color on impact. Additionally, she carried two M45A1 CQBP Handguns, loaded with the same cartridges. Alisa was carrying the M4 as well and also a Colt RO635 SMG, a Submachine Gun. The remainder of their squad was using the M4 while two of them carried the Barret M90, a Sniper Rifle.

None of them could match any kind of professional soldier but they out-classed almost any kind of amateur or hobbyist at this point. Kay opted out of bringing their single M203 Grenade Launcher because that thing fired something very similar to the actual ammunition used by their tanks and the goal was to distract Gloriana, not take them out.

"[1000 meters.]"

"[Radio silence. Switch to code.]" Kay had come up with a few specific words that only the Saunders troops would make sense of in case they met Gloriana on the battlefield. Their shared theme language would be an issue.

Making it to the perimeter of Gloriana undetected, Kay spotted several guards, the British tanks encircling the base, the guards spotting mostly L85A2 Rifles. Kay also spotted two L111A1 Heavy Machine Guns, mounted on top of tanks and operated by two girls each. _That's gonna be trouble. If they start firing on us with those we'll be covered in paint and declared KIA_. Showing hand signs to split into groups, Kay then pointed away from the L111A1. _Assault in 30_ was the final sign.

Alisa followed Kay through the thicket of the underbrush and got in position. The second they sounded the alarm and shouted _Enemy Attack_ , the guards would be distracted. _Non-lethal_. Kay stared at Alisa intensely for a moment until she finally showed the sign that she understood.

And then the first shots were heard. The guns were still nearly as loud as real ones, a special mechanism that was designed to imitate the pressure and tenacity of a real firefight with lives on the line.

A siren went off, not loud enough to carry on for more than two kilometers at most, and in contrast to Kay's expectations, the guards at the back of the camp didn't just become distracted, they moved away from their post. The American commander and her subordinate immediately moved in, moving crouched as quickly as they could. The commander's tent was easy to identify but the situation became hectic almost immediately after.

"[Who is attacking us?!]" Kay recognized that voice, it belonged to Rosehip. ["Get everyone out there! Whoever it is, we'll teach them to attack Great Britain!]"

_She didn't even wait for an answer before deciding to go out there in numbers. And why is Rosehip even in command?_ Kay looked at Alisa and peeked out from cover, the backside of a large tent. Carefully aiming, she shot just past the head of one of the guards operating the L111A1. "[Sniper! Cover!]" Kay shouted, with as girly and British an accent as she could. It had the desired effect. Everyone covered for a moment, which Kay and her aide used to move up. The camp was three circles. A circle of tanks, a circle of tents and then all the important supplies and such in the center, the smallest circle. Kay and Alisa moved from tent to tent, heading towards the much larger commander's tent that was unfortunately almost across the camp from where they had infiltrated.

The sound of gunfire filled the night and the camp and Kay really hoped that her girls would get out in one piece. _They really need to be taught a lesson or two in base security_ , Kay thought. She could have easily started a fire but she didn't want to seriously damage Gloriana's capabilities. And finally, they made it to Darjeeling's tent. A guard was posted in front of it, a guard that wasn't moving. _On three_. Another hand sign.

The guard only saw a shadow move out from beside the tent before she was swept off her feet by a blonde and then had the nozzle of a Rifle to her forehead. "[Open your mouth and I will shoot without mercy. And to sweeten the pot, I will set fire to your supplies. That will be quite the kaboom.]" Alisa enjoyed making threats in English. Somehow, they sounded more terrifying in English than they did in Japanese.

Kay found Darjeeling in a compromising situation. Half dressed, or half naked, Darjeeling was only wearing the bottom part of her uniform, the black boots and her dark brown skirt, looking visibly unwell. "[Don't move, Darling.]" _Oh, shoot. I slipped._ "[You're coming with us. Not a word or Gloriana will lose their commander.]" Kay had her M4 pointed right at Darjeeling's exposed chest. _I should at least give her time to get dressed._

"[Kay, we need to go.]" Alisa hissed from the outside. "[They're shooting less which means we either lost or they're retreating.]"

"[Sorry about this, but we gotta go **now**.]" Kay grabbed a bundle of red clothing on a small folding chair and threw it into Darjeeling's arms. "[Move!]" Kay wanted to win and if she had to treat Darjeeling a bit rough to get out of this in one piece, then so be it.

Pushing the unarmed Darjeeling, who tried to remain composed but was still visibly unwell and unnerved by Kay's appearance in her tent, through the front of the tent, Kay noticed Darjeeling exchange a single look with her guard. Pushing her hard, Kay nodded to Alisa, who pulled up the guard and shoved her as well. They couldn't leave her behind or a retreat would become difficult. Alisa would have knocked her out with the butt of her rifle if the rules allowed for that but that was a clear violation of the rules and would have gotten all of Saunders disqualified on the spot.

They could hear the sounds of tanks being started up and Rosehip's unintelligible shouting in the distance. Then the first tank shell roared over the camp and hit the trees. "[Shit! Who is shooting at them?]"

Alisa could make out only a single word amidst the confused and tense shouting of the British camp. "[Finish. Must be Jatkosota High.]"

"[What are they doing, attacking in the middle of the night?]" Kay figured that visibility must have been near zero. They only had dim lamps at the camp and they were surrounded by trees. The carrier was far away from civilization, too, so no light radiation in the sky, making it a really dark night. Kay hadn't even needed to take off her night vision goggles inside the camp, that's how sparsely everything was lit.

Darjeeling stumbled over a tree's roots and fell. "[Commander!]" The guard opened her mouth but was shut up immediately

"Are you okay?" Kay responded in Japanese without thinking and quickly covered her mouth. There was no outright penalty for doing so as long as the staff deemed it an involuntary response. "[Are you hurt?]" Pulling Darjeeling off the ground, Kay felt that she was all wobbly on her legs. _Shit._ Putting away her rifle, carrying it on her back since with a belt, Kay picked up Darjeeling, carrying her piggyback. _She's heavier than I thought_.

Alisa didn't like how this was developing. Keeping the guard in check, she was ready to shoot her if necessary, Kay's orders or not.

Panzer shells started flying over the camp and the British were mounting a counter offensive. Kay hurried as much as she could but carrying a person really slowed her down.

"[Alle Panzer, Feuer!]" Maho's voice echoed through the forest like it was being transmitted by a speaker. She was **really** into this extended game of war.

"[Открытый огонь!]" Katyusha's voice met Maho's just half a second after the German's order.

Kay, Alisa and the guard all ducked and jumped to cover as tank shells started filling the air. Kay managed to keep Darjeeling on her back during all of that. "[Holy shit! Alisa, did you invite Pravda and Kuromorimine?!]" Kay tried to count just how many tanks there were out there based on fire cycles but it was far too chaotic for her to make sense of it. "[It's like that thing out there, that big fight with everyone for themselves!]"

"[Battle Royale?]" Darjeeling suggested without making any attempts to have Kay put her down. She wasn't feeling any better.

"Yeah, that." Kay slipped up again. Even if the staff most likely had no way to monitor them in this situation, it was about fair play and adherence to the rules. And as tiring as it was, getting fully into character and following the rules was fun.

"[What do we do now? Going out there and we'll be blown up, run over or shot at.]" Alisa peeked out of cover, the backside of a large tree, and saw half a dozen Pravda tanks roll by not even a hundred meters away. "[What is Pravda even doing here?]"

"[Chasing Kuromorimine. Rosehip had a run in with Kuromorimine earlier today and they've been chasing us ever since. Pravda is completely focused on them.]" Darjeeling was much more eloquent than this, usually, but the situation didn't allow for any great British Grace.

"[In any case, there is no way we can stay here, we need- are you **nuts**?!]" Alisa shouted at the guard that suddenly made a run for it and took aim. _Stupid bitch._ Opening fire with her M4, Alisa hit her four times in the legs, covering her in blue paint. "[Don't blame me for her recklessly charging out there.]"

"[I was expecting casualties. You made the right-]" Kay's words were drowned out by a shot from a Pravda IS-2. The explosion of the shell threw dirt, twigs and stones all over the place and Kay shielded her prisoner with her body from the mostly lightweight barrage. "[Damn. We're sitting ducks out there. We're going! Hold on, Darjeeling.]"

_Stop calling her that!_ Alisa was strangely upset by this entirely inappropriate nickname. Only when they actually started running did she realized that the extra three letter had been there that time. Shells were hitting the ground, creating holes and felling trees, all around them. _Forget **like** a war, this **is** war! A real one!_ All players had been advised to get out of the danger zone as quickly as possible if they found themselves in the middle of a tank battle, but that was akin to running away and abandoning the battlefield.

Kay ran so hard that Darjeeling had to try very hard not to fall off or repeatedly bump against Kay's back, each step shaking their bodies as hard as the shells around them shook the air. But Darjeeling was not actually that worried. She had a hunch about what the American girl was really after.

Kay's breathing was wrecked, her throat burning and her chest full of piercing pain, but finally, finally they made it out of the immediate combat zone. They could still hear tanks firing in the distance, and for a moment, they saw a number of large shadows hurriedly flee the battlefield. _I presume those must be Jatkosota's tanks._ One of the tanks was trailing behind the others and the British girl thought that smoke had to be raising from it, but it was near impossible to tell in the darkness without night vision goggles like Kay and her subordinate were wearing.

Kay couldn't keep going and put Darjeeling down, who immediately raised her hands slightly, no higher than about halfway to her head, because of Alisa's rifle. It was bad form for a British to surrender, things like those were to be reserved for the French, so she kept her gestures to a minimum. It really bothered her that she was essentially half naked still and the top part of her uniform had been lost when Kay dove for safety earlier. Thankfully, none of her own girls could see her in this miserable state. _I must rethink my stance on insisting on Tea Time when we only have foreign imports left_. She had grossly miscalculated how much tea her British forces would consume over the course of this competition.

The American commander was on the cold ground, the grass slightly wet, and started to take off her coat. All American participants were supplied with clothing that looked highly similar to that of the real American army during training and combat operations. Kay just wore that over her usual clothes. "[Here.]" In an act of chivalry, Kay handed her coat to Darjeeling, who hesitated. Putting on an American coat of warms was… not as bad as being half-naked, she decided. She would have definitely refused a coat from Kuromorimine, who wore uniforms highly reminiscent of the German Bundeswehr, or a Pravda uniform, which hadn't changed much.

"[Commander, we need to go.]"

"[I can't. Nope. No way. I'm FUBAR.]" She loved that acronym. "[Fire the signal flare. The Germans and Russians should retreat if they see our color in the sky. They'll think the might of America is about to come down on them and they can't handle us if they're already fighting each other and the British.]"

"[Reconsider that order! That'll make it look like we are helping the British.]"

"[That's the idea.]" Kay looked at Darjeeling. "[Think of it as the start of our own special relationship.]"

"[I worry Rosehip will notice my disappearance and chase after me. I am still unwell because of a slight mishap that occurred the day before, but I can at the very least return the good faith that you have shown the British and help you walk. I am correct that you intend to take me to your base camp for negotiations or ransom, yes?]"

_I hate this woman_ , Alisa's thoughts were easy to read because she kept her rifle pointed at the unarmed British Commander.

"[Alisa. That's an order.]" Kay pulled rank on her co-commander and watched her pull the signal flare pistol she kept tugged away on the back of her belt.

Firing the signal flare high in the sky, the battlefield changed. The two American and one British girls couldn't hear it, but the spotters and operators of both the Russian and German forces were barking orders and relaying commands until both Katyusha and Maho were in the know that Saunders was on their way. Each army had their own unique signal flares and each spotter was trained to recognize them, even in the dead of night.

"[On behalf of St. Gloriana, the British will not forget this.]" Darjeeling knew better than to play proud. Pravda and Kuromorimine would have shown up even if Kay hadn't kidnapped her and without Saunders scaring them off with a bluff, Gloriana would have taken heavy losses, if not even end up eliminated.

Kay pulled out her radio. "[Code Orbit.]" _That takes care of that._ Code Orbit meant that they were using the threat of intervention by force to split up a multiple way battle in progress. But it was to remain a threat. Kay didn't want to have the entire base get kicked out of their field beds and sleeping bags.

"[Rapporto.]" A voice on the radio demanded.

"[Missione di successo.]" Another voice answered, hidden completely in the dark. "[Gli ordini si prega.]"

"[Tornare alla base.]" _Return to base._ It was Anchovy's voice that was issuing the order. She knew that in this big brawl between all the powerhouses, there was no way for Anzio to compete fairly or head-on. She had thrown an enormous tantrum at first over hiding and pitching the big schools against each other, but Carpaccio and Pepperoni convinced her that they had no chance of winning otherwise.

With both the Russians and the Germans retreating, the British counted and cut their losses and retreated to their base, putting everything on high alert. Meanwhile, Kay managed to rest up enough to return to her own camp. She had lost one member of the squad that had taken the broadside of the L111A1 and protected her comrades. Those that were KIA had to leave the base and head towards the nearest staff relay. They did so under the risk of exposing the base, so they were allowed to remain at base, but not do any chores, relay information or consume supplies until the base relocated or the school mounted an offensive so they could slip out without attracting enemy attention.

"[Good job, all of you.]" Kay looked in the general direction of the girl that had been killed and then she averted her eyes. "[If Makie was here, I'd tell her she did good in protecting her friends and teammates from the British gunners.]" She wasn't allowed to just thank the girl in person because of the rules but there were instances where it was completely acceptable to bend the rules. "[Cycle the guards, keep an eye out for Pravda and Kuromorimine, just in case. If they show, shoot first, talk later and don't even bother with questions.]"

Grabbing Darjeeling by her right arm, Kay pulled her along. "[Move!]" She made a little show of being rough with her for her girls. The British were still their enemies. But hopefully not for much longer.

Getting to the commander's tent, Kay shoved Darjeeling inside. "[Finally alone.]"

_As a British Commander I should stand up to her but… her motives seem strangely ulterior. And what she just said… could it be? Now, it would not surprise me if she succumbed to my British grace and charm, and still, a battlefield is no place for thoughts such as that, I'd say_. Darjeeling very much liked to be in character as well. And after learning British English for four months, she really enjoyed Panzerfahren even more. She was not a fan of infantry operations however and sabotage seemed like something the underhanded Germans or Russians would do. "[Commander Kay, I appreciate your feelings, I really do, but perhaps it is more than a small misuse of your troops to pursue personal, emotional goals.]"

Kay didn't have to be a genius to pick up on what Darjeeling what saying. "Wow, wow, hold it!" She slipped again and suddenly stepped up to Darjeeling, grabbing her arm. "That's not why I abducted you!" Kay whispered to the British commander. "I wanted an alliance. I read in class that America and Britain have a _special relationship_ and I thought we could, too."

"A special relationship?" Darjeeling kept her voice as low as possible, too, which was difficult because she was now blushing. _So she really wants her and me to be… like that? It isn't that unusual for girls engaged in Panzerfahren to have girlfriends, but… for me, the commander of the British forces, to indulge in pleasantries with the commander of the American forces during this competition?_

A normal girl would have kept trying to clarify things, to clear up this misunderstanding, but not Kay. _This was not what I had in mind but if she's that flustered, this might totally work! It really helps that she's pretty and smart at the same time. "_ Yeah _…_ a special relationship." Grabbing Darjeeling's hand and forcefully intertwining their fingers, Kay put on her best seductive look, a slightly aggressive smile, her eyes narrowed a little, some of her curly hair falling over the British girl's shoulders. "How many times have we met on the battlefield? I never, ever, said anything because we go to different schools and were enemies but here… we don't have to be. I can be true to my feelings." Taking the hand she was holding and putting it on her large chest, Kay smirked. "Feel how hard my heart is beating, being this close to you?" _Of course it's beating like crazy. I nearly puked my guts out running out of that battlefield. But I guess a third of it is maybe because she is really damn hot. Maybe half even. Maybe-_

"T-This won't do." Darjeeling tried to pull her hand away but her body was refusing to supply her with any strength. _I've sometimes… fantasized about her, but to be right in front of her… and she is saying she wants to have a **relationship** with me?_ Usually, Darjeeling was a very proud and calm girl, but she was also easily influenced by her own assumptions and ideas. "W-We can't. It wouldn't be right. I cannot betray my school like this." And still she left her hand on Kay's chest, still blushing, still excited and nervous.

_This is gonna be easy._ Kay was smirking on the inside. Getting even closer to Darjeeling, Kay smirked wider on the inside when the girl reluctantly backed away, a little less than necessary to remain apart from the American. "You said it yourself. An Englishwoman will do anything in love and war." Kay quoted Darjeeling to herself. _I am not even holding her hand in place anymore and she's still touching my boobs. I am getting pretty darn excited here myself, though._

Darjeeling had her face averted from Kay, who kept pushing her back until the British girl felt the field bed's metal bars against her bare legs. There was no more room to back away without sitting down on the bed. She had to make a stand, right there and then. "Listen. I welcome your feelings, but-"

"Oh, you welcome them? So this is mutual then." Kay forced herself up against the British girl and whispered in her ear. "That makes me happy." _Now for the finishing touches._ Putting her hand softly against Darjeeling's chin, Kay slowly turned her face towards her, staring deep into her eyes. _Woah… I am getting butterflies here. I need to dial it back a notch_. Turning Darjeeling's face a little more, Kay moved in for a kiss on her cheek. Her stomach was giving her trouble, now that she was putting the actual moves on her. _I was just planning on bribing her or maybe leveraging her with her troops as ransom but this is… so much better. Damn am I nervous though. I'm having lengthy mind monologues on my own even._

Darjeeling's feelings as an Englishwoman demanded she no longer let herself be pushed around like that. Suddenly turning her head, her hands buried into Kay's long blond hair, the British girl surprised the American with a sudden kiss on the lips. Reversing the flow of their private meeting, Darjeeling pushed up against the charming commander, her lips firmly sealing Kay's mouth. She was not brave, not bold enough to attempt more than just a kiss, but she stood up to the American, stood up to all of America, it felt like. And that feeling gave her courage, granted her temporary bravery. When she broke away, ignoring Kay's fiercely scarlet face, Darjeeling remained as calm as a teenage girl possibly could in such a situation. "I never would have expected you would come and steal me away in the midst of night. A selfish and daring thief, taking what isn't hers and proclaiming it is theirs from there on."

Kay couldn't formulate a response, not even a clear line of thought. Her throat was burning, her chest on fire and it felt like her legs would give in any moment now. _This is not how this was supposed to go!_ Her mind finally roared in defiance. But more so than being taken by such surprise, she couldn't let Darjeeling take control of this. This was **her** camp, **her** army, **her** ploy.

The kiss that had left Darjeeling proud of being an Englishwoman, one that could stand up for herself, was quickly returned by Kay, both of them stumbling towards the back of the tent because she was too forceful. Crashing down, Darjeeling was on her back, only her butt and her feet sound on the ground. She supported her upper body with her elbows, looking straight in the face of the American beauty in front of her, who was on her knees, refusing to break the kiss off even as they fell. _This bodacious woman_!

Darjeeling forced herself away, and felt like she threw away a fist sized lump of solid gold. When Kay tried to exert even more control over her, she put her full palm on the American's face. "Halt it."

Kay had no intention of obliging so, taking Darjeeling's hand and kissing her palm. "To kiss your palm is to appeal to you, isn't it?"

The blush that she so thoroughly beat just a minute ago returned with all of its embarrassing might to the British's face. "You appeal to me plenty already. Your manners and etiquette are terrible. Slow and steady wins the race. Know thyself and win all battles."

"So you want me to stop?" Caressing the cheek of the proud girl in front of her, Kay just then remembered that she was supposed to negotiate an alliance between teams with her. Not simply seduce her. To begin with, wasn't she only pretending to be into her? _Yeah, I think I can totally forget about **pretending** here. I wanna gobble her up like a hamburger, indulge until I explode_.

"Yes." Darjeeling pinched the skin on Kay's hand and finally got her to back off. "There is no danger of me going anywhere with so many of your armed girls outside." Now that she was starting to fight off the excitement she felt over the girl she liked suddenly proclaiming her feelings for her, Darjeeling felt the sickness from drinking bad tea come back. "You do not, by chance, have some quality tea in your possession?"

_Good that I came prepared with a gift for all of the major schools for a situation just like this._ _Well, not **exactly** like this. I wouldn't be caught dead making out with one of the Pravda or Kuromorimine leaders._ Kay, trying to appear polite, helped up Darjeeling, not by picking her up like a damsel but simply extending her hand, not as her captor but her equal. "I do have something good."

_Calm down, my raging heart_. Trying to calm herself with the prospect of finally being able to drink some quality tea, she hoped that Rosehip was not turning the base upside down for her whereabouts. _But I almost cannot believe she would come and get me like this. To take me away at night, back to her base. To even carry me when I couldn't walk well enough on my own._ _I was definitely mistaken about the quality of her personality. But I am ever so glad I was. She appears brash, crude and wild on the surface, and while she certainly has the charm of an untamed lion, she is also beautiful in pursuing her desires and goals. As an Englishwoman, I could settle for no less than the most outstanding of women to be my partner_.

_Oh shit. Has there ever been a plan in history so simple that went so wrong? I just wanted to go in, grab here, take her back, work some magic on her and get her to agree to team up until we get rid of Kuromorimine and Pravda. How exactly did I go from thinking about her as an enemy commander to wanting to wanting to rip off her clothes, sink my hands into those nice boobs of hers and have sex all night long? I suppose it could have gone way worse, but in a way, I am totally screwed! Alisa is gonna grill me and if we end up as the only teams still alive, Darling is **so** gonna grill me too because I'll have to squash her British forces. Either way, I'll be [whole roast]!_

"I got your namesake tea. Not a lot, but I can definitely brew a pot." Kay's voice was loud enough to penetrate the tent, and might have been for a while, because someone knocked on the tent, startling both of them. "What is it?"

"[Staff has issued a formal warning for Commander Kay of the American forces.]"

"[Oops.]" Kay had totally ignored the rules and just kept conversing with Darjeeling in Japanese. [Got it, got it.] Kay hoped that the staff at least didn't hear anything about her seducing Darling. _I meant that as a joke but it looks like Darling Darjeeling has really become my Darling now! That's gonna make for one heck of a story back home!_ Kay started preparing tea the same way she would have prepared any cheap brand of tea.

"[What are you doing?!]" The British commander angrily interrupted Kay, seeing how she was mishandling the tea. "[That is absolutely not how a lady would prepare tea!]"

"[I'm the furthest thing from a lady, you know.]" Kay was almost proud of that. "[But I'm not gonna let you handle boiling water and stuff, so if you wanna show me-]" Kay turned back towards the very small kettle she had and looked over her shoulder. "[You could direct my hands.]" _Her reaction is going to be priceless. There is no way someone that had a crush on me is gonna be able to- H-Hey! Stop! Don't come over here! Stop, stop! It was a joke! Hey!_

"[What a bothersome lover of mine you are going to be.]" _I can't believe I just said that with a straight face_. _How unrefined of me._ "[If you insist on not letting me prepare the tea myself, I must teach you the proper way of brewing and pouring tea. As an Englishwoman, it is my duty and purpose to educate all those that do not know the wonders and effort required of producing excellent tea, for no less shall be served to an Englishwoman.]"

_I've been thinking this for a while now, but…_ "[You're really elo… elo… what was it, oh whatever… well spoken, aren't you?]"

"[You on the other hand seem to have lacked attentiveness during the lessons.]" Darjeeling now stood right behind Kay and moved her arms just past Kay's sides, grabbing her wrists. Her chest, while it wasn't as big as Kay's, was still large enough to properly excite the American, hard pressing against her back. "[With tea, it is all in patience and grace of the person brewing it. What you lack I shall compensate for.]" She preferred just drinking tea instead of brewing and pouring it herself. ["We cannot help the quality of the water, but know that is it very important.]" Talking against Kay's shoulder, Darjeeling's breath tickled the girl's neck, trembling a little from the unknown sensation. But Darjeeling was of a different mind, focused completely on the tea.

Kay endured and endured, let her arms and hands be directed by this girl she realized now, she really liked. _I heard of love at first sight, but love at first kidnapping has got to be unique!_ _I'm not even 100% sure I do like her, sure feels like it, but what the heck, pretending got real pretty damn quickly! It's like I'm in an American movie!_ _Although there aren't enough explosions for that_.

It took Darjeeling all of fifteen minutes of being Kay's puppeteer before the tea was ready. "[I had to do without much of the proper procedure, but this should be of adequate quality.]" It was only enough for about two cups of tea and Kay was not exactly the tea type, so she let her guest, or prisoner of war, have both of them.

Slowly and gracefully sipping the still steaming hot tea from a cup, Darjeeling felt her life spirit return. She just sat there, quietly drinking and contemplating her situation. Kay was sitting on the ground with her legs crossed, staring at the girl whose current status defied her capacity of explaining. _Prisoner? Girlfriend? Leverage? My crush? Someone who has a crush on **me**? All of those?_

"Hah." Darjeeling's singular sigh of relief brought Kay back to reality. "[So-so, I suppose.]" She didn't even have a proper tea cup to drink from, only a metal cup, and still, the quality of the tea leaves made up for a lot.

Kay eventually got tired of sitting around and watching, stood up and stood right in front of Darjeeling. _Sink or swim!_ "Darjeeling." Her serious and intense look made the other girl look at her in earnest. But Kay couldn't keep that look up for long. Scratching her own cheek, she smiled awkwardly. "[So… let's go out.]"

Darjeeling was so surprised that some of her tea went down the wrong pipe, then she choked on it and started coughing. _I didn't expect her to be so forward. Is there no limit to her boldness?! Is that the American Way? Speak first, think later? But still, did they not say Associate with women of good quality if you esteem your own reputation for it is better to be alone than in bad company? I… reckon that Kay is a fine match. A capable commander. A beautiful woman. An honest person that values sportsmanship and fair play. There is little I could ask in addition to that_.

"[No, seriously! If we feel the same about each other, nothing's stopping us!]" _No half-baked tactics! If I'm all tingly and feeling good about being with her, throw reason to the wind and let's just go and do it!_ Kay didn't need to look for any deep reason why she liked being with Darjeeling. Those feelings she had experienced were enough for her.

"[I certainly can't fault you for being honest with your feelings.]" Her hands were shaking a little, the girl unable to completely hide her nervousness. _What do I do now? I ought to accept, to agree, but the words just won't leave my mouth_.

_Not 100% honest, but she doesn't need to know that. Little hidden truth here and there didn't hurt anyone. All is fair in love and war, she said so herself._

Finishing her cup of tea, Darjeeling wanted to have another but to get up and get another cup without giving Kay an answer would be terribly bad form. "[I suppose I don't have time to think about it.]"

"[Nope,]" Kay said with a large smile. "[What's there to think about? You like me, don't you? And I couldn't ask for anyone better than you as my girlfriend. Actually, maybe I'm a little out of my league here, but I don't give a shit.]" Kay proceeded to laugh proudly.

_She really is abrasive, but… I don't dislike it._ "[If you're that insistent, I am happy to oblige.]" Darjeeling put her cup down on a small folding table next to the field bed and got up, aiming to get a hold of the remaining tea before it got cold. But her plans were obliterated by Kay.

Finding herself swept off her feet, the British girl returned to blushing, suddenly carried like a princess by her newly found lover. "[W-What are you doing? Let me down this instant.]"

Kay didn't object or even say anything but instead turned her head just far enough to push a kiss on those lips that smelled so fragrantly of tea now. Her long blonde hair mixed with that of her partner, shielding them from curious eyes. And this time there was no holding back, no decency. Their lips parted and met again more than once every second and Darjeeling's arms found their way around Kay's neck, pulling her so close, it must have hurt the back of the taller girl. It was an act of strength for Kay to remain standing like that, feeling the fire in her chest burn wildly, more and more so, with each kiss, each repetition and pledge of their bond formed on strange occasion.

But even Kay's strength had its limit. When she let her new partner down, the British girl, still wearing Kay's uniform, kept her arms tightly around the neck of her significant other. _I've dreamed of this. To be swept away by passion and passionate acts. It is… it is so unlike me, to engage in it like this, but not even an Englishwoman is immune to the temptations of someone like Kay_. She opened her eyes in surprise when she felt her buttons come undone. Kay was looking at her already, eyes half closed in a seductive expression.

Her words were just whispers once again. "I have to insist you return my uniform." Opening the third of six buttons with just one hand, Kay really enjoyed the flaming scarlet that showed on Darjeeling's face. Her curves were showing as Kay kept unbuttoning the uniform, the center of her chest revealed, the blue bra catching Kay's eye in the dim light of the tent. _There's no way we can fit onto my field bed together but it's gotta be pretty sturdy right?_ Sweeping forward, and Darjeeling off her feet, Kay whirled around once, and luckily for her, the lady never took her hands off her neck.

Before she knew what Kay was aiming to do, it was already over. The American commander swept her off her feet, literally, grabbing the underside of her thighs, lifting her up and setting her down on her lap after she herself sat on the field bed. With her legs spread, her feet still reaching the ground, and her chest nearly bared, Darjeeling felt where this was headed by instinct. Grabbing the rim of the uniform she wore and covering her chest, she looked at Kay with a lightly demure look, something that was rarely seen on her face.

Kay was not deterred by this in the slightest. "Even that look is beautiful on you." Whispering one of many lines she had memorized from action movies that had some romance thrown in, Kay put both of her arms on her girlfriend's ass and suddenly raised her legs, then pulled, making Darjeeling slide up her legs, so close now, closer than Kay had planned, that she couldn't cover up her chest without having her hands press against Kay's breasts.

There was no point in trying to be prude or act coy, she realized that, so Darjeeling brushed away a few heavy strands of Kay's hair and kissed the side of her neck, first cautiously, then with much more fervor as she felt her lover's hands on her butt, under her skirt, moving over the smooth silk of her panties. "Fancy stuff you're wearing."

"A lady ought to be able to present herself in any circumstance." Darjeeling only stopped kissing Kay's neck, gentle and passionately both, to speak and in a moment of shock when she felt Kay's hands pull down her panties. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Oh, my bad." Kay's smirk remained unseen by her girlfriend but it was obvious quickly enough that it was an ironic apology, as Kay simply changed her focus from Darjeeling's butt to her breasts. "I actually don't care where I start, boobs or butt, I like both."

"Who said that you could just-" The words got stuck in her throat when she tensed up, her breasts under attack by Kay's hands, almost expertly feeling her up, sometimes her entire hand squeezing, sometimes just her index finger rubbing over her nipples, still through her bra.

"That I could do what? This?" Kay stopped for a second and could sense the brief disappointment that Darjeeling felt. Pulling the girl's bra up without warning, her sizable breasts bounced a little from the sudden loss of support and Kay heard a gasp for air.

_I cannot just let her have her way with me. As a lady, I just cannot._ But as much as she had fantasized about doing this sort of thing with Kay, reality was very different from her imagination. Letting go of Kay and sitting back, she bore the embarrassment of giving Kay a full view of her bare breasts, if only for an instant before she forcefully pulled off Kay's jacket, followed by the black shirt she wore beneath, pulled off over her head without asking permission. Kay however didn't experience the same embarrassment that Darjeeling felt. Wearing a simple black bra beneath her clothes, Kay took it off herself without waiting for her girlfriend to do it.

Half naked, the two of them struggled over dominance in the kiss that followed. Darjeelings hands on Kay's face; Kay's hands buried into the intricate french braid of Darjeeling's hair, unraveling it, giving her an almost obscenely sexy expression when she finally pulled away, a tiny bit of Kay's drool running from the corner of her mouth that the British girl quickly swiped away with her tongue.

Kay leaned back, trying to create enough space for Darjeeling to touch her breasts, but she had vastly overestimated two things; her own flexibility and the sturdiness of the field bed. With a singular breaking noise, the thin aluminum bars snapped and both girls descended rapidly to the ground, both of them letting out a startled noise.

With the top free Kay below and Darjeeling on top, still wearing the unbuttoned uniform, the last part was about to change. They weren't hurt or particularly deterred by the fall. Darjeeling started taking off her borrowed uniform when suddenly two guards stormed into the tent, posted outside by Alisa. Seeing the scene and the befuddled look on their commander's face, they saluted, yelled shouted an unintelligible excuse and left the tent as quickly as they had entered.

"[Oops.]" _I hadn't planned on keeping my relationship with Darling a secret but Alisa is gonna be boiling mad over this. Naomi probably, too._

"[ _Oops_ , is not quite the response I expected.]" Darjeeling hadn't been deterred by the fall but having two unknown people run in on them had put her out of the mood. Getting off of Kay, the British commander picked up the discarded uniform and really wished she had her own, or at least the combat uniform she regularly wore for Panzerfahren.

Kay didn't bother to cover up since she was still alone with her girlfriend in her private tent. There was a little bit of commotion outside though, so she wouldn't be able to stay half-naked for long. Thinking that, she picked up only her black shirt and put that on, her nipples casually poking through the cloth if one looked for it.

"[Shouldn't you talk to your troops?]" Darjeeling was going back into calm mode, fixing her bra and closing the buttons on her uniform. Instead of getting an answer, Kay hugged her from behind. "[I am serious, don't you-]" Her words were sealed away by Kay's index finger, put firmly on her lips.

"[You really want to stop here?]" Kay was far less affected by having someone walk in on her than Darjeeling was.

Swiping away Kay's hand, the foreign commander took a step forward. "[Yes. There is a time and place for everything. Explain to them the manner of our relationship.]"

"[Before I do that, there's one big thing we should talk about.]" Kay refused to be turned down like this. Even if they had to talk business, she wanted to at least preserve part of the fiery mood from just now. Taking Darjeeling's hand and pulling her around, into her arms, Kay smiled boldly at her. "[Saunders and St. Gloriana should become allies for as long as there are enemies to threaten us. You're not against it, right?]"

Darjeeling contemplated her options for a second. On one hand, being allies with Saunders had a lot of perks. They had a lot of tanks and supplies and most of all, personnel, which Gloriana was a little short on. It also meant she could keep fraternizing with Kay without repercussions. It would also act as a deterrent against Pravda and Kuromorimine regarding their attacks. The combined forces of Gloriana and Saunders, the forces of the allies, would be difficult to content with even for the Russians and the Germans. On the other hand… teaming up meant that the achievement would not be fully her own if she beat Pravda or Kuromorimine, or Ooarai for that matter. That was really the only real downside she saw. "[Very well. But what of what comes after?]"

"[We'll split up and duke it our fair and square. If I win, our first date is on you. If you win, I'm paying.]" Kay leaned in a for a kiss to seal the deal, figuratively and literally. But Darjeeling stopped her short. "[Not good enough?]"

"[You wouldn't just attack Gloriana with all of Saunder's forces after learning about our tactics and equipment, yes?]"

"[I said fair and square, didn't I? I'll match however many tanks you got left after we send everyone else home. Maybe they'll let us be champions together though. I wouldn't mind sharing the top spot with you.]"

"[I would mind. The ambition of the great commonwealth is not one to be taken lightly. Gloriana will fight you on equal terms and we will win.]" Darjeeling slightly averted her eyes and her lips curled up just before she smiled a little. ["I will treat you to tea, biscuits and whatever you want to do at my home if you win.]"

"[Oh, you're on!]" Kay sealed the deal now, keeping one eye open while Darjeeling closed both of hers. And so she spotted Alisa coming into the tent and making an exaggerated embarrassed face. _Here we go_.

"[What the hell are you doing?!]" Alisa's voice reached far out of the tent. The news that their commander had been caught in basically the act with the British commander had spread like wildfire. Most of the girls didn't really mind since they generally pegged for Kay swinging that way, so it wasn't that surprising. And this meant she wasn't going to put her hands on any of them, albeit some of them wouldn't mind.

"[Kissing? What else does it look like?]" Kay kept Darjeeling in her embrace, looking past her at Alisa.

_Showing my back to her sub commander is disrespectful_. Darjeeling turned but only enough to turn in Kay's arms, both arms of the American girl resting around her waist now. "[I am-]"

"[I know who the heck you are! I was there when we abducted you! Kay, what are you **doing**?!]"

"[Kissing, I told you. Does it work differently between a girl and a boy? I thought it was like this.]" Brushing away Darjeelings untangled hair, Kei kissed her nape. "[Actually, wrong side.]"

"[Kay, stop and explain yourself to your second in command.]" Darjeeling pinched Kay's hand to put emphasis on how serious she was about this.

"[Ow, ow, okay. I secured a girlfriend. And St. Gloriana's assistance in this competition. You can inform everyone that we are going to be working with them as one. Send an envoy to their last known location, one with a white flag.]" Kay still had control over her school. "[And don't fight me on this Alisa. The Russians and the Germans don't get along but Pravda might pull in Jatkosota and Kuromorimine might actually team up with Ooarai and then we're so deep in trouble.]"

Alisa left the tent without a word. As much as she argued with Kay, she wouldn't refuse a direct order like that, especially not if it improved their chances of victory.

"[You command more respect than I thought.]" Darjeeling was a little impressed with Kay.

"We can just talk normally if we're alone. Just don't talk too loud." Kay's words were rich with playful attitude. The rules were in place for a reason, but there was no way she was use English when she was making out with her girlfriend.

"… I suppose so." Darjeeling smiled a little. "What a night."

"The night isn't over yet. But honestly, we ought to get some sleep. Or at least pretend to get some sleep." Kay tightened her hug. "And continue where we left of." Kay reached for the buttons of her darling's uniform again and then stopped. "You are already really hot normally but with your hair open like this, it 's like… dangerous."

"I really would prefer if you used beautiful or graceful, not _hot_. You Americans and your crude words." Darjeeling smiled nonetheless. "So you enjoy this unrefined side of myself, too?"

"There probably isn't a side that I am not going to enjoy." _I hit the jackpot of all jackpots here. Smart, strong willed, super hot, commands the British forces, likes me back and did I mention how hot she is?_ Kay had liked girls for a long time now but never really felt the need to commit to it or get a girlfriend. And how glad she was. Because she would have definitely dumped the poor girl that she'd been dating until now.

And Kay had her hand pinched again and ended up forced to let go. "[But you are right. We should be getting some sleep. Albeit it appears your bed has been… incapacitated.]" _What a disgrace to a lady to have destroyed a bed_. "[For tonight, I'll return to my own camp.]"

"[No, no, you can't do that. It's dark as heck out there and with Kuromorimine and Pravda prowling about, we can't risk you getting rolled over by a tank. You're staying with me."]

She hated that Kay made a lot of sense in that regard. "[What about sleeping arrangements then? You can hardly expect me to sleep on the floor.]"

Kay quickly turned about, crouched in front of a large hard plastic box and pulled out a gigantic blue roll that made some extensive crackling noises as it was rolled out by Kay. "[Sleeping bag, for when we don't have time to pitch a lot of tents. We all have ones that are big enough for two in case part of our supplies or equipment gets taken by the enemy.]"

_She's well prepared, as expected of Saunders._ Darjeeling had noticed her intentions right away and wasn't surprised enough to show any great reaction. "[You want me to share one with you? Could I not borrow one from your subordinates?]"

"[Sure you **could,** ]" Kay smirked. _But do you want to?_ The look in her eyes said everything. Taking her black shirt off again, Kay crawled into the sleeping bag. There was enough space fro two adults, making it relatively spacious for two girls in their late teens.

Darjeeling contemplated her options for just a moment and decided that she wanted to go with what her feelings told her to choose. Unbuttoning her uniform herself this time, she had barely taken off the piece of clothing when one of the guards announced herself. "[I'm going to be the envoy to Gloriana. Commander, can I come in?]" Normally, nobody ever bothered to ask Kay for permission to enter but after hearing Kay and Darjeeling, she wanted to avoid walking in on them again.

The British commander was sick of dressing and undressing so she left the uniform on the remains of the field bed and slipped into the sleeping bag with Kay, so that only her head was visible. "[Come in.]"

The guard found it really strange to talk to her commander sitting inside a sleeping bag, half naked and without a care in the world. The beautiful blonde next to the commander was seemingly already asleep. _W-Wow… did they do it already? Ella was saying that they were in the middle of it earlier_.

"[I can't read your mind, was anything unclear about going to Gloriana and telling them that we're teaming up.]"

"[I am sure they would like some kind of proof.]" _The commander can be surprisingly air headed._

Darjeeling briefly sat up, covering herself with the sleeping bag to retain a degree of modesty. "[Tell them to send Rosehip over in the morning and I will explain everything to her. For now, tell her that _Tea is brewed to perfection with a steady hand and calm mind_.]" It was their code for _everything in order_.

"[Understood. I… suppose.]" _The British commander is just as weird as ours. Is that one of their coded phrases or something?_ "[I will take my leave then.]"

"[That's one heck of a code phrase.]" Kay was impressed something like that was accepted and memorized by everyone.

"[How long are you going to sit there and bare everything?]" Darjeeling really couldn't bring herself to care about how quickly she had gone from just occasionally fantasizing about Kay to sharing a sleeping bag with her. Life could be turbulent, she but a leaf in a storm, thrown about by the musings of fate. _I should write that down later_.

Closing up the sleeping bag, it was only on Kay's side, Darjeeling started to shiver a little. The inside of the bag was fairly cold, all things considered and so she naturally moved up against Kay. _She will surely get the wrong idea but… well, maybe it isn't so wrong_.

But against her expectations, the only thing Kay did was to hug her really tight. "Hate sleeping in these. So damn cold. Brrrr." Shivering all over, Kay tried to absorb as much body heat from her girlfriend as possible. "I guess I can say _Mission Accomplished_ now." Kay mused by herself and earned a little bit of ire from Darjeeling.

"This has to be the strangest day in my life. But I don't dislike it. Unpredictable developments shape character. The unknown is to be feared and loved, both."

"You **really** love your quotes, don't you." Kay had pulled Darjeeling so close that their faces were nearly touching. "But I don't dislike it." Kay quoted Darjeeling to herself, again.

"There is something important we have yet to discuss." Darjeeling looked right in Kay's navy blue eyes. "You have yet to put how you feel about me in plain terms."

"Oh." Kay wasn't impressed by Darjeeling's formal speech. "You want me to say it?"

"What girl does not want their partner to say it?"

"I love you, Darjeeling," Kay said without hesitation and further teasing.

"I love you as well, Kay." Darjeeling said and then slowly closed her eyes. "But could you perhaps stop touching my butt?"

"You don't like it?" Kay's dirty grin was wiped off her face by a sudden kiss from her partner. A kiss that lasted only a brief moment.

"I don't dislike it." Squeezing her left arm between their bodies, Darjeeling buried her fingers into Kay's large breasts. "I don't dislike it at all." Kissing her again, she felt Kay move her right leg between hers. _It is incredibly improper for me to be doing this. Like a whirlwind she uprooted the house that was my life, took me away, away to a faraway place, stranding me there, with nothing but the clothes on my back. And I fell in love with this new place, this new life of mine, at first sight. What a sinful thing to do. But I suppose even an Englishwoman is still only a woman._

=== Tea and Cola ===

Panzer Vor!(?)


	2. Chapter 2

There was a lot of confusion going around between the American and British forces. Word had come from up above that they were going allied now, with little to no explanation on why and how that had happened. On one hand, everyone, especially the girls from Gloriana, were happy to have someone that could watch their back now. Thankfully, both schools theme language was English, so communication was not nearly as difficult as many of them had anticipated.

The American M4A1s were parked right next to the British Matilda, one large circle and a smaller circle, creating a layered defense against infiltration. The dead center had all of the supplies as well as the commander's tent.

Kay and Darjeeling stood in the command center of their temporary base with their aides. Assam, Rosehip had been temporarily demoted for causing an incident early in the morning, and Alisa, who was already arguing with Assam over distribution. Saunders was short on parts and Gloriana was short on more basic goods. "[Yeah, I think there is no way around hunting for some supply crates today.]" Kay was not too happy about that. With their combined force, she wanted to go out and bully the others.

Darjeeling, wearing just her standard combat uniform, red and black, was enjoying her morning tea and really glad that nobody at Saunders really cared for tea. "[What about splitting our forces in half? We could send four of our Crusader Mk. IIIs. They could cover a lot of ground in a short time. Our other tanks could act as a rear guard.]"

Kay was not in full gear yet either, still wearing just her standard Saunders battle attire. "[The speed capacity differences between your slower tanks and ours is an issue. We're close to a river here and there is a lot of trees all around us making it hard to spot us even from the air. I would prefer if we kept enough tanks here to form at least temporary rings. Your Churchill and Matilda tanks are pretty tough so they'd make real good shields.]"

"[The English do not stay behind and let others fight their battles for them.]"

"[I doubt anyone but Kuromorimine is gung-ho enough to start shooting near a supply crate. I mean, think about it, one wrong aim and kaboom, it's raining has-been supplies.]"

"[The Germans are very aggressive, but they need to eat too. And wash up.]" Darjeeling really missed a proper shower. She was already happy that Saunders, much like Gloriana, had field showers, but hot showers were limited to right after operation time because the tanks were still hot then and they used that heat to boil the water. "[So you think if there is going to be a battle it will be an attack on our base?]"

"[Probably. I am more worried about Pravda raiding us than Kuromorihime attacking us, though. The Germans are gung-ho about fighting it out in the field but those Russians are literally crazy when it comes to just staging an attack and then going in on foot.]"

"[About that...]" Orange Pekoe, Or Ranko, as Kay had jokingly dubbed her because she found her name to be too difficult to say, had slipped into the tent without anyone noticing. ["The recon team got back a few minutes ago. Ooarai is fighting Chi-Ha-Tan Academy right now, eight and a half clicks from here, so they are very close. They are continuously driving them back. Towards us.]"

Kay felt excitement rise to her head and she gave Darjeeling an excited look. "[Wanna go out and show them what these allied forces are made of?]"

"[Chi-Ha-Tan is not a real threat and Ooarai could very well be aware of our position and trying to lure us out. It's risky. And there is very little possible merit in this for us.]" Darjeeling wanted to win and stuck with playing the long game. But she understood that morale was an important factor to keep everyone motivated. And most of all, she didn't want to have Kay complain to her about this for hours and hours. "[We could make a show of strength and gauge Ooarai's reaction. If they attack us instead of backing off, we can pull back if only to lure them in and attack them with all the might of the allied forces.]"

"[Is that what we're called now?]" Alisa was in the middle of settling a supply dispute over exchanging tea for bacon and butter.

"[Appears to be that way.]" Assam didn't really understand what her commander was thinking, but she was attentive enough to figure out what was happening. Not that it was extremely difficult to do so, since the American commander had MINE written on her cheek in black marker and she recognized that handwriting. Why is nobody telling her about the writing on her face? Is this an American joke? I don't understand Darjeeling anymore.

"[I like the sound of that. Show of Strength feels very, you know, American and stuff. Ranko, tell everyone we're mobilizing! If you see Naomi, rope her in to help you!]"

"[Uhm, my commander is Darjeeling though...]" Why is she even giving orders? It didn't look like they had reached a proper agreement yet.

"[For the time being, we share command, so an order from Kay is almost as good as one from myself.]"

"[Hey, what does that mean, almost as good?]"

"[I am more experienced and gifted in general commanding than you are, Kay.]"

"[That's not true! Right, Alisa?]"

"[I am not sure what you're expecting me to say.]" Alisa shot down her commander's plea for backup and turned back towards Assam. "[You're still skimping on the goods. Tea is difficult to come by.]"

"[It is. But so is meat. Does that not make the goods equal?]" Assam wanted to get a good deal for the British.

Kay took a step back, then to the side, and hugged Darjeeling from behind. "Man, I'm glad that things worked out. I was real worried when Rosehip showed up early in the morning, shouting about blackmail and prisoners of war and stuff." Speaking quietly enough that only Darjeeling could hear it, Kay was sick of conversing in English.

"Well, you did raid our base, took me hostage and proclaimed your feelings for me in the heart of your base. And then we sent word about our alliance. You can't fault her for being suspicious." Darjeeling was not in the mood for cuddling this early in the morning, and doubly not so in front of Assam and Alisa. At least Pekoe was gone and actually following orders. "You should wash your face already." I thought it would be funny, but it appears I might have been a little overzealous with my prank.

"Huh? I already washed my face. I even brushed my teeth. Can't have you complain I smell like hell when I kiss you."

Did I perhaps… use permanent maker? An Englishwoman doesn't hide nor run from a mistake. "Look into a mirror. I thought I would play a small prank on you since couples are allowed that much, but it looks like I made a small mistake."

She's so cute in how honest she is. I actually saw it in the mirror and was super careful to not wipe it off. "A mirror?" Faking ignorance with excellence, Kay stepped away and found a small mirror among her belongings. Let's look a bit surprised… okay, maybe a little mad? I don't want her to feel bad, though. Oh, I got a nice idea just now. Kay put down the mirror, walked up to Alisa and pointed at her cheek. "[Alisa, what do you think this means?]"

"[Is that some sort of setup for a gag? You know that I know, and Assam here definitely know as well, that Darjeeling wrote MINE on your cheek. Because you and her are a couple.]"

Kay looked really unhappy with that reaction. "[I'm going to go and check how mobilization is going.]"

There was a moment of silence before Darjeeling spoke up. "[She is going to parade around what I wrote on her cheek, isn't she?]"

"[I apologize for our stupid commander. She's probably just about to fly out of her boots from happiness or something.]" Alisa didn't really care much, and after she looked at Assam, she was sure the British aide didn't care either. "[Is this a normal thing in Gloriana?]"

Assam cast a cursory glance at her commander before she lightly shook her head. "[I don't think so. There are definitively a few couples among the girls, probably within our ranks as well, but not on a level where I would call it normal.]"

"[Your reactions are somewhat lukewarm, aren't they?]" Darjeeling had expected at least Assam to be surprised.

"[Commander, I don't mean to offend, but… a lot of people know you had the hots for Kay.]"

Darjeeling was rattled, but remained calm on the outside. "[How?]"

"[How? Well…]" Assam glanced towards Alisa, who just shrugged and stepped out. "[You became very talkative after trying some of the tea that had a bit of rum in it.]"

"[When was this?]"

"[The celebration after we helped Ooarai defeat Selection University.]"

"[Rum is such a vile substance.]" Blushing after remembering that she couldn't remember much about that celebration, at least not past a certain time, Darjeeling really didn't want to dwell on that topic. "[I'm going to talk to Kay.]"

=== Tea and Cola ===

Kay sat nearly motionless on top of the Churchill Mk VII, Darjeeling's personal tank. "[They're not coming.]" Kay handed the binoculars to Darjeeling, who was, for once, not drinking tea. Mainly because tea had been rationed and even a commander was exempt from that.

"[Chi-Ha-Tan is not moving either.]" The two commanders had made a display of their combined force atop a hill that was right in the way of Chi-Ha-Tan and the pursuing Ooarai. "[Nishizumi must be anticipating that we intervene. And because we are just sitting here, she's observing as well.]"

"[Man, Chi-Ha-Tan must be boiling in their tanks down there. It's hot as heck and there is not a speck of shadows down there.]" Kay held out her hand and received the binoculars back. Checking on the other Japanese team, Kay spotted the Chi-Ha-Tan commander, Kinuyo Nishi, walking in circles in the center of their temporary defensive formation. "[They got a lot of tanks. I didn't know they had that many, actually.]"

"[Chi-Ha-Tan is often seen as an easy enemy because of their below average tactical skill and their intense focus on suicidal charges. Under a proper commander, they could be quite a worthy opponent for either of us.]" Darjeeling turned to the side when she noticed movement. One of the girls from the recon team was just climbing atop the tank and handing her a bundle of papers. "[Any casualties?]"

"[None. I believe we weren't seen at all.]" The girl replied and quickly hopped down to get back to her unit. Despite sitting there on the hill for over an hour now, the troops of Saunders and Gloriana were not letting their guard down.

"[What's the situation like?]" Kay asked, not putting down the binoculars and focusing in on the commander. She is surprisingly cute when she looks flustered.

"[Ooarai seems to be unable to decide if they want to pursue Chi-Ha-Tan and gamble on the possibility that we won't attack. Their tanks are still running, according to this, but about half of their force is ready to retreat if necessary.]"

"[How far away are they?]"

"[Are you thinking of firing at them from here?]"

"[We do have the advantage of higher terrain.]"

"[Even our best gunners would find it nearly impossible to land clean shots at this range.]"

"[We don't need clean shots. We need a distraction.]"

"[What do you have in mind? I can't read your mind, Kay.]"

"[We circle some tanks around to Ooarai's back. Then we scare Ooarai by bombarding them, then we go in and blast Chi-Ha-Tan sky high. Then we-]"

"[How many tanks do you intent to sacrifice just to take them out?]"

"[Aw come on, you can't make an omelet without cracking some eggs!]"

Darjeeling felt somehow infringed upon her domain when Kay used a proverb against her. "[If we just wanted to destroy Chi-Ha-Tan we could easily do so from here. But crushing them with this much overwhelming force is neither fair or interesting.]"

"[Now that I think about that, yeah. But I can totally see them stabbing us in the back if we try to attack Ooarai by going past them.]"

"[We've been sitting here for a while. It's only a matter of time before other schools discover our position and then we will be forced to make a decision.]"

"[If only we could ensure that Chi-Ha-Tan doesn't turn on us...]"

"[If it's just that.]" Kay hit the button on her com. "[Rosehip. Across the channel, pilfer the crown, fleeting like the sun in London.]"

"[Your codewords are way too confusing.]" Kay pitied the operators from Ooarai and Chi-Ha-Tan that were trying to make sense of that, if they found the correct frequency already.

"[It makes them secure. I sent Rosehip and her squad of Crusader Mk. III to capture the commander of Chi-Ha-Tan. If we hold her hostage they will have no choice but to follow our demands. And they must know that opening fire, or resisting our demand for handing over their commander, will be followed by swift and complete destruction.]"

"[Yeah, but we're dealing with idiots here. You know them, they just go Charge! and suicide on the spot.]"

"[That was the case before the match with Selection University. I believe their commander learned a hard lesson during that match. Why else would they still have this many tanks and run from Ooarai? That does beg the question why they were running from them at all. They have the vastly numerical advantage.]"

"[You think we are walking into a trap?]"

"[No. They might both be Japanese teams, but I cannot see them being allies. Even if they were, Ooarai must know that even if they should attack us together with Chi-Ha-Tan, they have nearly no chance of victory unless the Russians or the Germans whittle down our numbers of tanks.]"

"[You know, speaking of having many tanks and the Selection University match… what is Anzio doing? I haven't seen them even once.]"

"[Anzio is a really poor school so they most likely didn't have enough tanks to field a sufficiently large force to compete with most other schools directly.]"

"[Hey, speak of the devil.]" Kay handed the binoculars to Darjeeling. "[Four-thirty, between the trees, about a click from where Ooarai is waiting it out.]"

[I cannot- you have very good eyes to spot her. Even knowing where to look, I nearly didn't see her.]" With a small force, Anzio might be quite difficult to find on this extremely large battlefield. Searching systematically is impossible, even if we allied with Pravda or Kuromorimine, due to the sheer size of the land. But I cannot have her spy on us. "[Assam, forty-five, no, forty-six degrees North-north-east. Aim to undershoot and shatter the ground twenty-to-thirty meters in front of the forest border.]" Darjeeling was about to retreat into her tank when Kay pushed her down and jumped after her.

"[Woah, a little warning would be nice!]" Siting on Darjeeling's lap, the American commander saw the British girl execute the order without paying any heed to her sudden intrusion. With a loud boom, the shell flew way over Chi-Ha-Tan and caused a sizable crater on the plains near the forest.

"[The detached force is asking what that shot was about.]" Darjeeling's operator shared the info immediately.

"[We fired a warning shot to scare off an Italian spy. Proceed as planned.]" Darjeeling had the info relayed over the radio. She wanted the other teams to have the opportunity to pick up on it. "[Kay, could you get off of my lap?]"

"[Already?]"

"[The battlefield is no place for flirting.]"

Getting out of the tank and sitting on top of it again, Kay didn't bother to extend her hand to Darjeeling. It would be disrespectful to treat her like a typical girl when she was the commander of the British forces. "[Can't see the Italian anywhere. What was her name again?]"

"[I don't believe I ever met her, so I don't know.]" Darjeeling got back out of the tank. "[Movement from Ooarai?]"

"[I would usually just say, let's go and get them, but Ooarai is like a circus. Always got for a surprise and very fun to visit.]"

"[Their victory against Selection University has definitely catapulted them towards fame, but in this competition that is working against them. Far from scaring the smaller schools, like the Russians, Germans and ourselves do, their comparatively small force and high level of fame makes them a very lucrative target.]"

"[They're not moving at all. Or if they are, they're hiding pretty well. By the way, how much infantry training did Gloriana do?]"

"[A moderate amount. The English prefer to fight with tanks in a tankery competition.]"

"[We trained our butts off. I could probably have our snipers take out most of the Chi-Ha-Tan girls that are out of their tanks and inside their circle from here.]"

"[I wouldn't be interested in you if you were a woman that uses such cheap tactics.]"

"[Against Chi-Ha-Tan that, you know what, I am sick of saying that. Let's just call them Chihans.]"

"Don't be disrespectful out of laziness. Respect for your is both the burden and grace of a lady.]"

"[Ugh, fine. I was saying, it's overkill as heck to use infantry units against Chi-Ha-Tan. But I don't we got the luxury of not using everything we have against Pravda and Kuromori.]"

"[They are powerful opponents and just as we will use everything at our disposal, so will they. It would be disgraceful and dishonorable to fight someone like them while holding back.]"

"[This whole deal here is a lot more complicated than just duking it out in the open. But you know, I don't dislike it.]"

"[You are such a rude girl.]" Darjeeling sighed and thought it was about time to hear from the search team. "[They are late.]"

"[The supply hunters? Maybe the crate went down somewhere bad. And I mean, they are like what, 4 to 8 to 4 meters? It's almost dumb to call them crates when they're the size of shipping containers.]"

"[I'm impressed you know the measurements.]"

"[Ah, well, uh, yeah, I mean, they're made from wood, and stuff. And I wanted to know how much firewood we can get out of one crate.]"

"[A thirst for knowledge motivated by greed. How very American of you.]"

"[The way you're talking I was expecting you to put on a monocle and a top hat to go into battle.]"

Darjeeling wanted to retort, but the mental image of what Kay described was too funny for her to hold in a giggle. "[I am not sure you have the right idea about British culture.]"

"[Well… maybe there is a nice British girl around here somewhere that can explain it to me in detail over some tea and biscuits later? My personal stash. I put that aside in case I ever ran into you and had to bribe you.]"

"[Are you trying to seduce me, Kay?]" Darjeeling looked very amused by Kay's words. "[If you are, then you aren't doing bad at all. I would love to-]"

"[Commander! Orange Four!]" One of Kay's subordinates shouted at her, from a few tanks away. "[Hostiles at Midnight!]" This time it was the operator of Darjeeling's tank.

The flirting ended instantly. Darjeeling jumped into the tank and closed the lid while Kay jumped from the tank to the next one, her own, and got inside. "[Sit rep!]"

"[SP1 got the box at 117X 8293Y, S12 and on their way to us. Six to twelve hostiles from KMM in pursuit. They're going to run into Ooarai and Chi-Ha-Tan in 7 minutes if they stay on route. They're boxed in both sides.]"

"[Tell them to put the foot to the pedal, all the way.]" Kay grabbed a walky-talky. "[Darling, did you get all the info?]"

"[Yes. An Englishwoman does not abandon her fellow countrywomen.]"

That was all she needed to hear and Kay put the walky-talky down. Much like Ooarai and the other successful schools, Saunders had a special Commander-to-All-Operators piece of radio equipment. ["All hidden units mobilize. Follow my lead. Visible units, stay there until we passed Chi-Ha-Tan, then pursue. Open fire at will if hostilities break out between Chi-Ha-Tan or Ooarai and our forces. Target: S14. Let's light a fire under the ass of those Germans.]"

Darjeeling just finished corroborating Kay's orders towards her own subordinates and then turned towards her operator. "[Put me through to Rosehip.]" Darjeeling waited a few seconds until she heard Rosehip's voice. "[Full Speed ahead to S14. Open fire at will if Ooarai moves. Our tea provisions are in jeopardy.]"

Chi-Ha-Tan's commander watched in sudden dread as the Crusader Mk. III that had been approaching sped up like crazy and changed course. She had expected a messenger to negotiate safe passage, so what was this now? "大洗は動いている！"Those words made her spin around. Ooarai? Now of all times? S-Should we charge in and try to make it out with as many tanks as we can? And then more bad news. "サンダーズも動いている!" And when Kinuyo Nishi looked up the hill, it looked to her like heaven itself was descending to wipe her off the battlefield. Dozens and dozens of tanks were suddenly rushing past gaps between the standing force, rapidly descending the hill and coming right towards them. "[Everyone into their tanks! Combat stations!]"

But Chi-Ha-Tan was barely inside their tanks when a little over thirty tanks of the allied forces fired, largely the M4A1 from Saunders, raining down destruction on Ooarai's position, who decided that they didn't want to get into an unplanned fight with over fifty tanks from the allies and Chi-Ha-Tan on top of that.

"[What is happening?!]" Kinuyo shouted as she watched the Crusader Mk. III blast past their encampment, ignoring them like they didn't even exist.

The ground was shaking under the might of the combined forces of the allies, a rampaging thunder and lightning, about to sweep Chi-Ha-Tan away. "[Commander Nishi, there is someone contacting us on our frequency!]" The operator of the Type 97 spoke out of line.

"[Put her through immediately!]"

There was only a single word in English, but it was simply enough for everyone inside that tank to understand. Run.

"[All tanks that have clear line of sight, fire at Ooarai, then mobilize! Saunders and Gloriana are giving us a chance for a break away charge! We live to fight another day!]" Even after that fight with Selection Academy, Retreat was not within their vocabulary.

Ooarai was making a figurative run for it, driving their engines as hard as they could, through a shallow river and towards a more advantageous location. Miho looked at the massive mobilized force through her binoculars and while there were a whole lot of barrels pointed in her general direction, she understood that it was an If you come, we will put you down gesture, not a declaration of war. Miho felt relieved when she thought that. In a straight up brawl we would have no chance of winning. Not against that many tanks and not if they are being commanded by Kay and Darjeeling.

The allies had lost one M4A1 to bombardment, but the crew had escaped. The remaining tanks, two Crusader Mk. III, one M4A6 and one Sherman VC Firefly, were pushing their engines hard, the Sherman pulling the heavy crate with steel cables attached to the hull and the two Crusader's acting as shields. The M4A6 was covering the rear and firing as often as the crew was capable, trying to keep the pursuing Panzer V, Pathers, away. Their superior speed made that difficult.

"[Up front!]" The driver of the Sherman looked straight at one of Kuromorimine's tanks, a model she didn't recognize. "[What the hell is that?]" A round from the tank flew right past the Sherman and grazed one of the Crusaders, tearing the hull on the side.

"[There is no way I can do any evasive maneuvers with the crate bound on! The next hit is going to blow us sky high!]"

But before the German tank could fire again, an almost out of control speeding Crusader III crashed into it from the side with enough speed to make the German tank slide to the side on the uneven ground and tip to the side. With the presence of mind of a wise master, the Sherman fired and hit the enemy tank right in the front, applying enough force to make it fall over. "[Who-]" The driver of the Sherman didn't get much further than that because a redhead, with terribly wild hair and soaked in sweat, jumped out of the Crusader and threw two hand grenades at the flipped tank before she hastily retreated and had the Crusader put the engine in reverse.

The explosion thundered across the uneven plains and then; two dozen more thunders echoed from afar, a rain of gunpowder and hell coming down on the pursuing Kuromorimine tanks, who rapidly took evasive maneuvers, losing one Panther to the bombardment and giving up the pursuit.

Rosehip, soaked to the bone in her own sweat, was sitting on the ground outside the overheated Crusader Mk. III. "[That was what you would call a speedy rescue!]" It took the remaining force another four minutes to meet up with the now standing still search party.

A radio message for Kay came in from the M4A6. "[You came for us, Commander!]"

"[Darjeeling would have my hide if we didn't mobilize the second your SOS came in. And I can't leave my own girls hanging out to dry.]" Kay's voice over the radio was comforting if also a little bit upsetting. "[What happened to the girls from the M4A1?]"

"[Their M4A1 was probably taken by KMM and there has been no contact so they're probably doing Protocol 5.]"

"[At least they're alive.]" Alive, I mean, still in the game."[Sit rep on tank condition.]"

Both the Sherman and the M4A6 reported in as fine if really in need of a shower. Tanks got pretty darn hot on the inside in hot weather and when the engine was being pushed like that. Darjeeling received similar reports from the two Crusaders although they were still not off as bad as Rosehip was. Her red hair was clinging to her face and neck in wet strands. Her red uniform and black skirt sticky with sweat.

The flipped and damaged German tank was surrounded by British and American soldiers within seconds after the bulk of the main force arrived. They surrendered because those were the orders of their commander. "Ihr könnt uns foltern oder versuchen uns gegen lösegeld einzutauschen, wird euch verdammten tee drinkern und speck essern nix bringen."

"[Wow, trash talking us in German!]" Kay was impressed by their dedication. So what do I do with four German prisoners? Shoot them? That would be really cheap and unfair. "[What the hell were they saying? Do we have anyone that picked up German?]"

"[I speak a little.]" Orange Pekoe, or Rank as Kay kept referring to her, offered up her expertise. "[Should I try?]"

"[Ask them what kinda tank this is.]" Kay didn't really mind that she was hijacking one of Darjeeling's direct aides.

Ranko tried to think of the right word. "Was für ein Panzer is das?"

The four Germans, tied up by now, looked at each other and one with short white hair spoke up. "Modifizierter Panzer IV, Ausführung H. Extra hohe feuerkraft und dafür dünne hülle."

Pekoe was a bit out of her depth with that and the German girl that had answered her saw it on her face. "Komm her."

Pekoe was initially hesitant about getting that close to one of the Kuromorimine girls but followed the invitation and got very close. Telling her the same thing she had said in Japanese, the German girl then looked away. "Kein wort kriegste aus mir mehr raus."

"[It's a modified Panzer IV, Model H. They increased the power of the gun and reduced the thickness of the hull to maintain speed. That's why it got flipped over.]" Pekoe was glad that the girl had cooperated.

"[How's it looking?`Think we can use it?]" Kay shouted to two of her girls that were crawling on top of the damaged Panzer IV now.

"[It's busted. No way we have parts to fix it.]"

"[Okay, drain the diesel from the tank, grab the shells and take everything that looks useful!]" Kay grinned dirty at the four Germans. "[Winner. Takes. All.]" Even they understood that.

"[You have a nasty streak to you.]" Darjeeling joined Kay. "[We can't stay for long. As soon as Rosehip's Crusader has cooled down to functioning levels, we need to go.]"

"[Look at this this way. Rosehip's overheating Crusader is gonna heat a whole lot of river water for us. Tonight we can get some hot showers.]"

"[Even with all of our tanks, I cannot imagine there will be enough for everyone to take a turn.]"

"[Not by themselves, obviously. So I was thinking, we put some barrels up, you know, drum baths, and people can share. Shared bathing is still a thing at Gloriana, right?]" Kay got a little closer to Darjeeling and ran her finger from the side of her neck upwards to Darjeeling's cheek. "We can share one, too."

"You Americans have no sense of tact or decency." Darjeeling grabbed Kay's hand and pushed it away. "As an Englishwoman, I have to lead with pride, grace and by example."

"Aw, so that's a no?" Kay was sure that there was way too much noise going on all around them for anyone to overhear them talking in Japanese.

"What are you talking about? If we expect our subordinates to share a barrel bath, how can we demand that of them if we ourselves do not lead by example." A smile followed that statement. "That is agreeable, isn't it?"

"Sure is." Kay was already looking forward to that.

=== Tea and Cola ===

"[What do we do?]" Kay was staring very intensely at a peculiar item on the field table, standing right in front of it. The supply crate had contained what Kay called a Rare Item. But it was only one and it was not the kind of thing that could be split evenly or anything like it.

"[Our options are limited. I think it comes down to the Tortoise or the T28. We're lucky that both of our schools belong to countries, thematically I mean, which have build machines like that.]"

"[The Tortoise is faster, but it's got less armor. And it's 94mm vs 105mm shells.]"

"[We saw the T28 in action during the match against Selection University. It was really impressive. The slow speed however is a definitive point of worry in a massive scale battlefield like this.]" Darjeeling was at peace, despite the conversation.

The supply container had contained not a lot of tea, but enough to make the British girls happy. Saunders gladly handed over the tea in exchange for most of the bacon and about two thirds of the sausage. There were supplies for tanks as well.

"[One problem the Tortoise has is that it requires at least five people. A commander, a gunner, a loader, driver and co-driver. If we want to utilize the machine gun as well, that makes seven people. I don't have that many soldiers that know how to operate something so heavy and big.]"

"[I don't either. I'm amazed the T28 was even an option, honestly.]"

"[There are even fewer Tortoises than there are T28, I am sure. But nevertheless, we should think about this some more.]"

Kay leaned back in her chair and threw her hands up. "[Well, the T28 beats the Tortoise in everything but speed, and to boot it only needs four people. I wish I could drive that thing myself. Must feel awesome.]"

"[You're a little obsessed with big and powerful tanks, aren't you?]"

"[Well, not just with tanks. I'm also obsessed with busty and powerful British girls.]" Kay smirked wide and then even wider when Darjeeling smiled at her over her tea cup. "[I totally saw that smile.]"

"[You were meant to see it. It is cute in its own way how dedicated you are to me when we have been a couple for not quite a day yet.]"

"[Out here on the battlefield, every minute is worth ten, so it's been like a week and a half now.]"

"[I suppose I could let my somewhat childish girlfriend have her extra large toy if she asks politely.]"

"[Rats. I guess we're going with the Tortoise then. Polite stuff is just not my thing.]"

"[Truth be told, it would most likely weird me out, too.]" Darjeeling tried very hard to remain the refined Englishwoman at all times, but she did like to slip a little towards a more casual behavior when she was alone with Kay. ["No, I think, the T28 is a better choice. We simply don't have the personnel to outfit the Tortoise properly.]"

"[Can you imagine the face of that snotty Katyusha when the thunder from that heavy baby blows past her?]" Kay smirked, then giggled, finally laughing loudly as she imagined the face of Pravda's commander. "[We're so lucky! Or rather, I'm so lucky! If my luck keeps going like this, I'm going to wake up with the power to fly and turn dirt into gold.]"

"[Such exaggeration.]"

"[Come on, day one I score the best girlfriend in all of tankery, day two we show Ooarai, Chi-Ha-Tan and Kuromori who's boss and grab a super rare item. The only way this can get any better is if- honestly, I've no idea even!]"

Walking around the table and coming on to Kay a little, Darjeeling put her hands on Kay's shoulders. "Not even a shared bath with a British lady?"

"Leading by example, right?" Putting her arms around Darjeeling's waist and, in a bold move, her hands on her butt, Kay was expecting to be denied, but hoped she wouldn't. And that day, everything just kept going her way.

Darjeeling put on a really seductive expression, her eyes closed two-thirds of the way and a mature smile that stared Kay in the face. "Now, this kind of example we should not set for our subordinates. But even a lady has to find a time and place to be simply a woman."

"So it's like that, you're not Darjeeling, Commander of the British forces, but just my Darling."

"I really should slap you for doing something so horrible to my wonderful name."

Kay closed one eye, her lips forming a grin. "But that would cause an international incident." Stealing a quick kiss from Darjeeling, Kay didn't fully back away, staying close, peering into the girl's soul through her eyes. "Although a different sort of incident is totally gonna be fine."

"You Americans have no patience at all." Playing with a strand of Kay's hair, Darjeeling was the one that started a proper kiss. I am rushing terribly into my relationship with her. Yet I cannot… I do not want to change it. We go to different schools, we lead different teams, and by the end of all this, we shall be enemies. I have to treasure the time we share now.

The kiss ended and both girls looked at each other in silence, caught in a close embrace. "I believe… haste does not always make waste."

"Now you're talking." Kay was silenced by Darjeeling's fingers, resting against her lips. Talking anyway, her words sounded a little funny. "Oh come on, just one kiss?"

"Exaggeration, impatience and greed. Why do I love you, again?" Darjeeling pulled back her hand and wished she was a little shorter, so she could rest her head against Kay's shoulder. "It must be because of your beauty, honesty and strength of character."

"Stop it, I'm gonna blush." Kay was just joking about it. "I could same the exact same things about you. Minus the mean stuff."

"The truth has no color, not black or white but simply presents itself as what it is."

"Please don't talk in cryptic proverbs nobody has ever heard of."

"[Commander. The baths are ready. We put up some curtains with unused tents and stuff.]" It was one of Kay's subordinates, speaking to them from outside. Having one person walk in on them had been enough, so Kay and Darjeeling settled on a new order; don't enter the Commander's tent unannounced.

"You heard her." Darjeeling tried to get away from Kay but was kept close by the girl. "The water will get cold."

"We'll heat it with passion."

Darjeeling pinched Kay's cheeks with a dark smirk on her face. "Denied. Now, a commander shall not be late. What kind of example would that set, yes?" Darjeeling was very eager to take a proper bath, even if it was just heated river water.

"Okay, okay, you can stop stretching my face!" Kay rubbed her red cheeks right as she let Darjeeling go. "I didn't know the British get violent like that."

"Violence?" Darjeeling turned around and walked a few steps before she looked over her shoulder and smiled at Kay. "What could you be talking about?"

"Shadows of the Empire..." Kay thought she was being clever and Darjeeling smiled when she realized what she meant.

The base was in a very relaxed state, as far as wartime went. The fear they had visibly put into Chi-Ha-Tan and Ooarai, and how easily they drove off KMM, had lifted everyone's spirits. A few of the higher ranking girls were already enjoying their baths. As usual, Rosehip was causing a commotion by insisting to take her bath now, because she couldn't stay sweaty even for a second longer. But most of the barrels were already accommodating two people, so she was very much out of luck.

"You can join me, if you want." Assam was the one that offered her a spot and with just this one girl, Rosehip hesitated. "I thought you were so intent on bathing this very instant? What are you hesitating for?"

Kay witnessed the scene just before going under the curtain of the last free barrel that was reserved for herself and Darjeeling. "[Why are they speaking Japanese? And what's Rosehip's problem?]"

"Advertising Tankery or not, they would not allow stations to film high school girls bathing. That means no voice drones either. At least not right here. They most likely focus on other parts of the base."

"Oh, makes sense. I tend to forget we're being filmed and stuff. And Darling, isn't this impressive? Using the river and the tanks to fill empty fuel barrels with hot water! I might be a genius, you know?"

"So you are taking credit for system that someone else came up with? I wonder what your subordinates will think about a commander like that." Darjeeling blushed when Kay just stripped in front of her. Seeing her naked behind is quite… I might not be ready for this after all.

Three smaller wooden crates were placed next to the barrel on top of each other and Kay got in without a hitch. A couple of colored towels, red and blue, were hanging from a wooden pole that was just rammed into the soft earth. "Aren't you coming?"

"A lady requires privacy to undress."

Kay turned around in the barrel and looked towards the sky. "I won't look."

I don't trust… well. That is a silly thought, isn't it? If I didn't trust her, I would never share command over my tanks with her, never mind call her my girlfriend and share a bath with her. Taking off her clothes, and unlike Kay she didn't just throw them on the ground. The earth and grass was very dry but the clothes weren't off for the better by doing that. Putting them together on the only surface that was left, Kay's clothes, Darjeeling stepped onto the crates, the rough wood feeling strange on her bare feet. And she slid into the water.

There wasn't a lot of space and the water rose quite a bit when Darjeeling joined her. Kay couldn't feel her from behind, and because she was a woman of her word, she didn't look.

"You don't have to stay like that." Darjeeling poked Kay's shoulder. The barrel was big enough, and enough water inside, that they were submerged all the way to their neck.

So she says, but I bet she's not comfortable with this. I mean, I'm excited as hell, but comfortable? Heck no. Turning halfway, Kay heard Rosehip scream in a surprisingly girlish voice. "I asked before, but what's with Rosehip and Assam?"

Darjeeling listened for any more screams, but nothing. "Assam has been very… open and direct with her preferences and feelings, regarding Rosehip. Honestly, I don't understand why she is so fascinated with her."

"I bet lots of your girls are saying the same thing about you and me." Kay stubbed Darjeeling's feet. "So Assam has the hots for Rosehip and it's one-sided? Ouch."

"One-sided? It might be… although I don't think so. If she really didn't enjoy Assam's company, would she still bathe with her? I am sure I have seen them together in the gardens, alone, as well."

"So she's a tsundere or something?"

"You watch too much anime, Kay."

"Not anime, manga." Kay took a deep breath and went under, her long hair like golden sea weed in the water. Staying down for about fifteen seconds, Kay was not very good at holding her breath, the blonde came back up, water running over her face. "You should try that. It feels so good to have the grime, sweat and dirt washed off your face properly."

"Something so unrefined, I can't possibly-" Darjeeling stopped and looked around. "I will poison you in your sleep if you tell anyone about this." Pinching her nose, Darjeeling went underwater as well. Thankfully there was very little light getting into the water, so even with one eye open she couldn't see more than a vague silhouette. And she was relieved about that.

When Darjeeling came back up and went over her face one last time, she noticed that Kay was looking at her with her mouth open. "That is unbecoming, even for you."

"Huh?" Kay acted like she had been in a different universe until a moment ago. "I was just thinking that you're at least twice as hot with your hair down. And that being said, keep tying it up. I can't have someone smarter or richer than me sweep in and try to steal you from me."

"You make it really difficult to decide if you are crude or cute."

"Crudely cute, maybe?"

"Apologize to language."

"Don't be so stiff."

"An Englishwoman-"

"Even an Englishwoman needs to take a break from being refined or she will burn out." Kay got close enough to Darjeeling to shove her leg between her girlfriend's. "Although I could definitely help with some burning."

"What does that even mean?" Darjeeling chuckled. "And what might you be doing with your leg?"

"Nothing. Now, what I am gonna do with my hands-" She didn't leave Darjeeling any time to react, her hands suddenly on the woman's bare back. "Or my lip-" Kay suddenly found a small fountain shooting water into a face. "Ugh, what was that for?"

"This is not the time or the place for… such things." Darjeeling blushed a little.

"Such thi-" Kay grinned the way only a villain could. "You thought I was trying to have sex with you? Out here? Just like that?" Faking a British accent as much as she could, Kay put the finishing touches on her mocking. "[Oh my, how unrefined.]"

Darjeeling grabbed hold of Kay's head and tried to push her under, blushing furiously. "You're the one that was coming on to me so don't be so bloody smug!"

"Hey, you jumped the gun." Kay managed to get a hold of her girlfriend's wrists and held her arms down. "But you weren't far off." Deeming it safe to let go of Darjeeling, Kay came closer again. "There is more to being together than just kissing and straight-up sex, you know."

"Don't look at me like I'm some innocent virgin." Calm down, calm down, Darjeeling. You shouldn't let yourself be rattled by her.

"So there were girls before me?"

"What? Of course not! What do you take me for? An easy woman?"

"But you just said-"

"I obviously didn't mean it figuratively!"

"So I am the first girl you're dated? I feel special now."

"What about you? Am I not the first girl you have dated?"

"No."

Darjeeling looked away and felt a bit hurt. Well, I should have expected that. Kay is beautiful and approachable. It would be strange for her to have never dated someone else before.

"I never dated a guy before either. So you're not just the first girl." Kay backed away in a hurry when Darjeeling, with a very angry look on her face, tried to grab her head again. The barrel shook dangerously and both girls immediately ceased messing around. "T-That scared me."

"You aren't lying, right?"

"What, about never dating before? Only an idiot would lie about that. It would blow up in my face so easily. And just because I have no first hand experience doesn't mean I don't know how it works. I do go to an all-girls school, you know?"

"You're terrible."

"Am I? What does that say about you, liking someone like that?"

"Every lady has their flaw. You are mine."

"Oh, now you've said it!" Pulling Darjeeling by her arm, Kay got both of them together in the middle of the barrel, dangerously close. "If I am so terrible, should I do all sorts of terrible things to you then?"

"Like.. what?" Why am I playing coy? I absolutely know what Kay is talking about.

Kay let her actions speak for her. Darjeeling didn't reaction much when she felt her girlfriend's hands move over her back, across her sides and up her stomach. "Is that all?"

The American couldn't believe it had no effect. Time to get serious then! I got these big boobs, lemme put them to use!

Darjeeling got a little excited when Kay pushed her breasts against her own, and still she was also a little disappointed. "You're all talk. At least do something like this." With a single swift move, Darjeeling took control, grabbing Kay's arms, pulling her so close that their breasts were pressed against each other hard. And if that hadn't been enough to send Kay's thoughts into a swirl, Darjeeling kissed her, more passionately than ever before. She didn't leave her partner any time to react, her tongue already dominating within Kay's mouth by the time she realized what was happening.

H-Hey… I'm supposed to be the aggressive one! Hm! God, why is she so… good with her tongue?! I didn't know kissing could… feel so erotic. My head is spinning. Woah… woah… stop, I can't breathe! Kay couldn't muster any strength to resist properly and she was noticeably getting turned on now. Wait up, lemme at least give you a seductive look!

When Darjeeling finally let Kay go, only her mouth did. "Now, aren't you excited all of a sudden?"

"Whose fault do you think that is?" How come she isn't even out of breath? Damn English superhuman stamina and peace of mind! "You better take responsi-"

"Responsibility? What is that line, something you saw in manga?" Mocking Kay a little move, Darjeeling started to move up and down a little, rubbing against her girlfriend. "Who knew the girl I love was so easily aroused?"

"Easily?" Kay wrestled her arms free and put them around back where they belonged; around Darjeeling's back. "It's taking the most beautiful and powerful woman of England to seduce me."

"Compliments will not impress me." The most beautiful woman of England? Does she really think that? Assam and Rosehip are very good looking as well, and she still would say that?

"Then how about this to impress you?" Returning the favor from earlier, Kay imitated her partner and started a passionate kiss, sloppier, wetter than before, kissing noises filling their immediate surroundings. It was less the kiss and more the noises from it that worked to turn on the British girl. These… sounds… Are they really coming from us? Such lewd, naughty, unrefined sounds… and yet, I want more.

Kay parted with her girlfriend, breathing hard and haphazard, and so did the other girl. "That impressive enough?" Kay tried to look smug.

"Barely." Darjeeling lied and slowly pushed Kay back against the wall of the barrel. "Now, impressive requires a little more effort."

"And you were the one that said this was neither the time or the place."

"Even an Englishwoman is not infallible. And a lady knows when to admit she was wrong."

Kay licked her lips. "You really want our first time to be inside a barrel? Surrounded by our subordinates? Any of which could come check on us in the middle of it? Now this desire for the dangerous is impressive."

Darjeeling calmed down as Kay laid out the dangers for her. "Maybe this is not the right time and place after all."

"I didn't know the English got cold feet."

"We do not." Darjeeling wouldn't let herself be manipulated by Kay. "But do you really want to have Alisa walk in on us, while you are moaning, looking vulnerable? Your authority would evaporate."

"You're such a buzzkill." Kay felt her passion evaporate instead of her authority.

"An Englishwoman always pays her debts." Whispering in Kay's ear, Darjeeling smiled as she spoke. I will make this up to you tonight, when we are all alone.

"O-Oh? I'm looking forward to that." Damn, and here I thought I had the reins in this relationship.

"Now, close your eyes."

Kay followed the request after a moment of sudden excitement. She felt the barrel shake for a second, then nothing. "Darling?" Opening only one eye, she found Darjeeling outside the barrel, grabbing a towel and covering up. That is an amazing looking butt. No wait, this ain't the time for that! "You're done already?"

"The water is cooling down. It will not be long before it is no longer even warm. And I do not want to have my skin suffer for it."

There was a really loud splash as Kay lifted herself out of the barrel and landed on the crates. "Wait for me at least! And what was that, teasing me like you're about to kiss me!"

"Teasing you? I had you turn away when I entered. So of course I would have you avert your eyes when I left."

Kay felt unsatisfied, and horny again, when Darjeeling turned about, with her hair still wet and wearing just a towel. I couldn't tell before… but isn't she almost my size? Walking past Darjeeling, stark naked, Kay enjoyed the feverish look on her girlfriend's face. "Do you like what you see?"

"Hmph. You are so full of yourself."

"So you do." Kay beamed with confidence.

=== Tea and Cola ===

"[First and second firing line, open fire!]" Kay's shouted order rung in the ears of all her subordinates. "[Show the Germans the power of the free world!]"

Eighteen tanks opened fire, driving in six formations of three, aligned like an arrow, three formations each forming a squad. Up ahead was a defensive line from Pravda, protecting their supply gathering unit. "[Contact Darjeeling. It's high time we're putting the heat on them.]"

"[Commander, we lost Tank #17! Direct hit!]" Kay's operator informed her.

"[Shit. That's a little early. Keep firing!]" Kay and Darjeeling had been repaid by Chi-Ha-Tan for saving them earlier that day. Pravda has tracked down the missing supply crate from two nights ago. And it came complete with coordinates.

"[Auxiliary firing line, give them hell! There's gonna be no borscht for those damn Russians tonight!]" Kay was really enjoying her role in this competition. Historically, Russia and America had never competed in grand style. This was her chance to show them what's what!

"[Urgent message from Commander Darjeeling! Code… Mad Hatter? What?]" The operator was not familiar with the British code phrases. Kay had learned just the important ones. This one meant that they were pinned down in a fire fight between two parties and couldn't move.

"[What about the force we sent around back?]"

"[Pravda saw that coming. We're slowing forcing them back by maintaining constant fire, but we can't do that indefinitely.]"

"[Shit.]" Kay hadn't been outmaneuvered yet. "[What about Omega and Taurus?]"

"[On their way. Commander, with all due respect, was this a good idea?]"

"[We've been firing like crazy, right? They'll think our barrels are overheating. The Russians are smart but not that smart. They'll never see this coming. And Omega was a done deal from the start. Numerical advantage is awesome!]"

The allied force was battling Pravda in tundra plans, small patches of forest littering the map and a large river separating the plain from the colder, northern region of the carrier. The supply crate was stuck in said river. Running out of supplies meant hungry troops and deserters.

Moving along the river, their uniforms covered in snow for camouflage purpose, Alisa was leading a group of six, excluding herself, towards the back of the position where Darjeeling was pinned down. "[It's so damn cold, I am going to kick Kay's ass after this!]"

One click ahead was the Russian infantry, positioned at the riverbank, using bushes, trees and everything they had to take cover against the British forces that were shooting at them. Darjeeling herself had trained only in using one specific weapon and that was the sniper rifle. Her steady hand, calm mind and ability to pull the trigger without hesitation made her the ideal candidate. Firing, she hit the upper shoulder of a Russian girl, who tumbled back and rolled over the ground. "[Hit. Non-lethal.]" Assam was with her. Pekoe and Rosehip were in the detached tank force. The allies had two squads on the ground and two in tanks, encircling Pravda. "[Commander, we have four injured. We need to get them back to the base or we're looking at four casualties instead.]"

"[The English do not abandon their mission.]" Darjeeling knew that the second infantry had to show up soon. I never knew a firefight on the ground could be so exciting. We should have trained more. Even though she was a talented sniper, most of her squad was American girls. Only Assam and one more of the twelve in total were British. "[Kay knew the risks. Trust in our allies.]"

"держать строй! Они любители! Если мы отступаем, они будут-" A bullet flew past the black haired infantry girl, from a direction she didn't anticipate. "Засада!"

It hailed paint from their flank now, four girls with automatic assault rifles pinning the Russians in place, not leaving them even a single meter of breathing room. Within ten seconds, the first lethal shot landed. "Отказаться от позиции!" They had no choice but to give up on the crate. They had no more backup to send there, with the tanks already fighting on two fronts and their infantry now attacked from two sides.

Darjeeling could barely believe her eyes when the Russians, carrying their injured, jumped into the probably ice cold river. Are they mad? In a way… they are fearsome foes.

The Russians were being forced back in more than one location. "[Let the engine roar!]" Rosehip was commanding her own small unit, having circled around the entire plans with so much speed that despite the cold outside they were sweating like it was the tropics inside their tanks. Six Crusader Mk. III, all those that Gloriana owned, were roaring over a hill that separated both of the Pravda tank units, the river running past the hill's foot.

But the moment the second allied squadron stopped firing, Pravda moved. Whether they could smell another ambush or not, Rosehip only saw the tails of numerous KV-2, heading right to join the other unit. "[What the blazes?! Contact the American Commander and tell her that they're about to have a lot more tanks on their hands!]"

Moments later, Kay got that message from her own operator. "[First and second firing line, retreat at full speed! Cover fire to delay Pravda!]" Kay was proud and enjoyed a fight but she was not interested in fights she had no way of winning. Eighteen tanks versus something like nearly 40 Russian war machines was not a good idea by any definition.

Rosehip also contacted Darjeeling, who gave her new orders. "[Rosehip, hurry down that hill. We are going to take that crate while Pravda believes they are forcing us back.]" If the Russians can jump into that river, so can we. Turning to Assam and the American girls, Darjeeling hoped that they trusted her enough to pull this off. "[Bring the cables. I hope the American forces do not mind a little water.]"

Rosehip both hated and loved that she was used to the fullest of her potential. On one hand, going fast was exactly what she wanted. On the other, she was going to have to take another bath, if time allowed for that, later. The six crusaders came to a sliding halt just short of the river. Darjeeling herself was standing on top of the crate, soaked to the bone and freezing, but still determined to fulfill her mission. There was something about working with Kay and the nature of the competition that made her want to win no matter what, even if she had to dirty her own hands. Or jump into an ice cold river, in this case.

The steel cables were too heavy to be thrown so two of the American girls, especially tall ones, pulled the cables through the river. Rosehip herself and three more from her unit worked as fast as they could to attach the cables to two of the Crusaders. One alone, with the engine as hot as it was already, couldn't have done this.

"[Message from Commander Kay!]" Assam was not the type to usually shout but she had no choice. ["We're retreating and Pravda is pursuing us! The detached force is about to flank them! We lost one M4A1 and a Sherman!]"

"[Make haste!]" Darjeeling shouting her orders was so unusual that the British and American girls worked as hard as their bodies allowed, without regarding for how tired or cold they were.

"[Sit rep! What is the detachment force-]" Kay got her answer before she finished her question. Pravda's entire battalion dodged to the right, from her perspective, when the detached force of the allies had finished circling around the hills and opened fire on them. "[Damn, they got some good drivers. Did we get even one of them?]"

"[We confirmed two lethal hits on KV-2!]"

"[What is Taurus doing?]"

"[They're about to depart!]"

"[All forces, piercing formation and fire at will! Keep the soviets busy!]"

"[We won't be able to fire much more. We're running low on ammunition and the barrels can't take much more non-stop fire.]" Kay's loader didn't see what her commander was seeing.

"[The second Taurus and Omega is out of the thick of it, we're retreating. Do you still have Chi-Ha-Tan's frequency?]"

The operator immediately figured out what her commander wanted to do. "[What should I tell them?]"

"[Keep it simple, they probably don't speak a lick of English. Pravda. Easy Target. Then give them their coordinates.]"

"[Understood!]"

Darjeeling was sitting on the back of Rosehip's Crusader Mk. III, clutching her sniper rifle, checking through the scope for Russian pursuers. Nothing. Did they swim through the river and get out on the other side? Her hands were shaking from the cold. I could go into the tank to warm up. But I will have Kay take care of that. And I have to ensure that they do not track us to our base.

Omega, Alisa's squad, was riding on the crate itself, armed to the teeth and ready to shower any pursuing infantry with enough bullets to turn them into a paint factory. "[Next time we better raid Anzio or someone else from the south. I hate the cold.]" Alisa was just voicing her complaints out loud. Even if they were going to attack Pravda head-on in the cold tundra area of the carrier she would still follow her orders.

"[Taurus, Omega and Alice are out of the danger zone! They're taking route 4 towards the base.]" Kay's operator informed her again.

"[All units, turtle formation, focused volley on my command. We can out-run them and we're done here. Load and get ready to fire!]" Kay climbed up inside the tank and peeked outside just a little, watching the pursuing Pravda force through her binoculars. ["Full formation, turn twenty degree west! No, I mean east!]" The thirty-four tanks of the allied forces slid in one direction, then in the other, forcing Pravda to adjust their formation temporarily to follow them between two patches of forest "[Now, fire!]"

Pravda saw the attack coming, again, and bolted to both sides, turning sharply against the forest and giving up the pursuit. Their tanks were a lot slower in general and even through the snow worked in their advantage, they couldn't catch the allies in this situation.

Kay climbed out of the tank, watching the Russian forces get smaller and smaller in the distance. "[Damn, that was close. If they had better engines, our asses would be on fire.]" Staying out there for a good minute, Kay jumped down, shaking. "[Damn, it's like a negative million degrees out there!]"

"[Positive two, actually,]" Her driver said.

"[Cold enough. What time is it?]"

"[Six-thirty. It will be dark soon.]"

Kay put her hand on the shoulder of her operator. "[Switch with me.]"

"But..." The girl answered in Japanese without thinking.

"[Ssh. Just do it.]" Kay got the girl to move over and contacted Taurus, the code designation for Rosehip's unit. Darjeeling had objected to it a few times, but Kay was adamant about it. "[Rosehip?]"

There was a pause and then Rosehip herself answered. "[We have a few injured and are on our way. We got the loot.]" Rosehip felt like she was in a spy movie, talking like that.

"[Can you put your commander on?]"

"[She is outside and making sure that nobody follows us.]" There was a pause. "[I didn't know you Americans were so clingy.]"

Kay blushed because this was quite unexpected to hear from Rosehip of all people. "[I'm not clingy! Just worried about my girlfriend! Maybe if you weren't so stubborn and would just get together with Assam already, you'd understand!]"

Her operator tugged on her sleeve. "[What?]"

"[That's an open channel. All the tanks can hear it.]"

"[Oops.]"

There was awkward silence on the radio. Many operators had quietly turned down the volume because they didn't want to be privy to such private conversations.

Luckily for the allies, the crate was mostly water proof and the river only about a meter and a half deep. The wood was positively soaked and had to be dried before it could be used for anything at all, but stealing Pravda's supply crate was a big win for them.

Darjeeling stood in Kay's tent, tightly gripping a cup of hot tea that had a shot of something distilled in it. Kay had made sure to smuggle that in there while no cameras could possibly be filming. Behind her, holding her, was Kay herself, the two of them covered by a thermal blanket, keeping them warm. "[I never thought you'd be the type to jump into a river and stuff. I heard from Alisa that all of my girls were mighty impressed.]"

"[We might not have trained for operations on foot nearly as much as you did, but I could not let stand there and disgrace myself by doing nothing.]" Darjeeling was still shivering a little and sipped on her tea once more before putting it down on the table. "[Were you impressed as well?]"

Kissing Darjeeling's nape, Kay slid her hands under her uniform, on her warm stomach. "What do you think?"

"I would have been angry with you if you were not."

"It is going to be dark soon. I doubled the lookout and guard detail for tonight because we robbed Pravda. Oh, and I heard your girls are going to be cooking dinner. Toad in the hole. Whatever that is. English food is so weird."

I cannot tell her I haven't eaten that before either. "I am sure you will like it."

"I would eat anything if you cooked for me by the way."

"That is a very careless promise. Shall I cook something exotic for you?"

"I take it back."

"You would go back on your word this easily?"

Kay grumbled. "Fine. In that case I am going to enjoy myself some high quality tea as dessert tonight."

"One more pun on my name and I will throw you out, Kay." Darjeeling still smiled and turned around, putting her arms around Kay's waist. "I suppose this particular Englishwoman just has incorrigible taste in women." Sharing a solitary kiss in this evening, Darjeeling felt really glad that she didn't play coy with Kay the day before. It was the right decision to be honest with myself. A lady has the right to pursue her desires with everything she can. It's only been a day, a single day, and still… I am rushing head first into the unknown, but I am not afraid at all. Not as long as I have Kay with me.

=== Tea and Cola ===

Panzer Vor! (TL note: Panzer Vor means Panzer Vor)


	3. Chapter 3

“[Aren't we too strong?]”

“[Kay… you should save your bragging for after we are victorious.]”

“[No, I mean that seriously. We're have so many tanks and we'll have the T28 in two days. Aw, it totally ruins my excitement that it takes them three days to get it here.]”

“[What do you mean then by saying we are too strong?]”

“[Saunders gave us some history lessons and in the second world war, everyone basically ganged up on Germany because they were too strong. A nearly all-powerful foe will force all those that cannot compete directly to join forces.]”

“[They united against Fascism.]” Darjeeling stretched out her legs. Sitting atop one of Saunder's Shermans, was not the most comfortable way to spend an afternoon, but there was scarcely a quiet moment at base. Kay just loved parading around her status as the girlfriend of the supreme commander of the British forces.

“[Putting aside against what they united, they united alright and if that happens to us, we're going to have a problem.]” Kay grabbed the last donut, there had been a few packs in one of the supply crates, from the white box and had almost put it to her mouth when she suddenly tore it in half. “[Want?]”

Darjeeling took the donut half without hesitation. _Not my favorite sweet, but they are growing on me_. “[So, what do you think we should do?]”

“[I'd usually just go, _let's put someone big into the ground real hard to show everyone who's boss_! But Pravda and Kuromori are pretty tough even when we stick together, not to mention that that is gonna backfire on us. Probably.]”

“[At least you have some self-awareness.]”

“[I think we should break up.]”

Darjeeling nearly dropped her cup of tea. “[Surely you mean our alliance.]”

“Huh? What else could I mean?”

“ **Us**.”

Kay broke out into laughter. “I would throw this competition to stay your girlfriend.” She smirked wide, just the way Americans were stereotypically portrayed in Japanese media, and showed Darjeeling a thumbs up. “That's how serious I am.” “[ **Super serious Sam**.]”

 _I feel she just said something really stupid, but I cannot put my finger on it_. “[I'm glad you hold our relationship so dear.]”

“[Where else am I going to find a woman as amazing as you are?]”

“[Enough flattery, Kay. You really want to annul our alliance?]”

“[I was pretty sure it was a good idea to team up. And we really pushed Pravda around the other day. Kuromori is not daring to go toe to toe with us either. So, I guess, what I'm trying to say is that this is boring. It's not a fair fight anymore. And I really think that it's only a matter of time before either Ooarai teams up with Kuromori or the Germans and the Russians pull together to deal with us.]”

“[Worse still, they could all come together. The raw might of the German and Russian teams, the intelligence gathering skills of the Italians and the tactical genius of Ooarai. Strong as we may be, we are not invulnerable. But I think it is overcoming these staggering odds, beating these powerful foes even as they stand united against freedom and grace-]”

“[You said freedom first. Does that make me the top in our relationship?]” Kay smirked wide and let out an _Ooph_ sound when Darjeeling kicked her butt quite literally.

“[Against Grace and Freedom will show our true combined powers. Never mind that splitting supplies, forces and base arrangements at this point would be a logistical nightmare and cripple both of us.]”

“[Oh. Yeah. Shit, I didn't think about the logistics at all.]”

“[I know how easy it is to stop thinking when someone of superior intellect- Kay!]”

Kay had poured some extra milk in Darjeeling's tea, swiftly and decisively. _I could never kick or hit her, but this hurts much more than either! Take that, Darling!_ Bickering broke out almost immediately.

Darjeeling sat on top of her girlfriend and was angrily stuffing Kay's mouth with sugar cubes, so much that the American could not even close her mouth anymore. “[Ayyjiivaahp!]” Kay tried to surrender but her words didn't exactly come across.

“[C-Comander!]” One of Darjeeling's aides had approached the tank on which the two had sat, with something to report.

“[Can you not see I am in the middle of teaching discipline to a primitive?]” _I shall teach her to never, ever, mess with a lady's tea! It is nothing short of incredulous insult, blasphemy perhaps, to sully a perfectly brewed-_ The aide was not going away. “[What is so pressing?]”

“[We captured a Russian messenger that approached alone in a small jeep, with a white flag.]”

Darjeeling immediately changed gears, got off Kay and jumped off the tank. “[Take me to her. Do we have a translator?]”

“[I am sorry. We would have someone that speaks a modicum of German, but none of us trained in Russian.]”

“[What about Kay's forces?]”

“[We put in an inquiry.]” _Well.. we're just asking around_.

“[Hey! Weitfoameh!]” Kay was desperately trying to chew the sugar cubes, but all that pure sugar was pretty disgusting.

The Russian they had captured turned out to be a girl with slightly longer than shoulder length blonde hair and light blue eyes. She was tall, as well.

 _Woah… she must be 10cm or more taller than me._ Kay had finally caught up by the time they arrived by the tent in the outer ring of their base where they kept the Russian under armed guard. _And she seems strangely familiar. Did I fight her before?_

“[Я здесь, чтобы вести переговоры. Я хочу, чтобы установить перемирие. Kuromori является нашим врагом, а также и мы хотим, чтобы победить их.]”

“[What the heck is she saying?]” Kay really cursed the theme language rule right about now.

“[Did you prepare anyone for a situation like this?]”

“[Heck no. I never expected one of the Russians to come and try to talk! And she totally feels familiar. Like, do you know her?]”

“[Kay… your memory is as bad as your preference in drinks. She's one of Katyusha's aides. I believe her name was Clara.]”

“[Klara.]” The girl corrected her. “[Да. Я помощник командующего Катюши в.]”

“[We. Not. Speak. Russian.]”

“[Kay, stop. Getting upset is not going to help. Do we still not have a translator?]”

“[It appears that nobody in our ranks learned sufficient Russian. My apologizes, commander!]” The same aide from before, that had notified Darjeeling in the first place, was informing her now that they had no way to communicate.

“[Negotiate. Deal.]” Klara spoke, at best, extremely rudimentary English. “[Kuromorimine enemy. Pravda Enemy. Saunders Enemy. Gloriana Enemy. Negotiate. Deal. Defeat Kuromorimine.]”

“[Why did they send someone that speaks less English than I did **before** our lessons?!]” Kay had no patience whatsoever when it came to communication barriers.

“[Keep her under guard but see to it that she is attended to if she requires food, water or the bathroom.]” Darjeeling instructed the guards and then left the tent.

Kay was right behind her. “[What are we gonna do? Keep her here? There is no way we can negotiate anything with the language barrier like this.]”

“[There is a third party I know of that is bound to be fluent in at least the languages used by the larger schools; English, Russians, German and Italian. Japanese goes without saying, we all speak that, but we cannot hold official negotiations with her, a Russian negotiator, while we're under the obligation to honor the rules and speak English.]”

“[Blasted rule.]”

“[No Kay, this is precisely what makes this competition more interesting than Tankery is to begin with already. Can't you feel it? The rush of excitement that comes with an unexpected situation, a challenge that lies ahead of us. The risk and the potential reward.]”

“[We Americans are supposed to be the cowboys but you sound ten times as much cowboy right now than I do.]”

“[I need to rethink my preferences in girlfriends.]”

“[Harsh. So who is this third party? Don't tell me it's Ooarai.]”

“[I have no doubt that some of them speak rudimentary or broken English, Russian and German, but by far not enough to run an official negotiation. I'm talking about Anzio.]”

“[The Italians? Aren't they like, really poor?]”

“[That is precisely why I think they will have tried to compensate for their lack of raw numbers and brute strength by studying the tactical aspects of this competition. Imagine being able to intercept communications and correctly understand, translate, report and sell the information you obtain.]”

“[Sell them for goods, help and even tanks. That does sound pretty crafty.]”

“[I considered having some of my girls study Russian, German and Italian respectively but between infantry drills and harsh tankery practice, we did not have the time.]”

“[Same here. Honestly, we had some pretty high attendance in remedial classes, haha.]” Kay tried to play it off as a funny comment but she felt disappointed with herself.

“[There are several issues with Anzio. First, at this point, nobody can trust them. We have no way to ensure that the translation will be accurate either. Which means, we need to create a situation where they will want to provide decent services to maintain good will with us. But the biggest issue of them all is contacting them.]”

“[Oh, that should be piece of cake.]”

“[A piece of cake.]”

“[You're only allowed to correct me if you dress up as a teacher. White blouse, black skirt and-]” Kay violently gasped for air because Darjeeling “[I-I was saying… it should be easy to get to the Italians. You said so yourself. They're probably listening in.]”

“[I don't think it will be that easy.]”

=== Tea and Cola ===

“[Hai chiamato, siamo venuti.]”

“[See, I told you.]” Kay wore a big and obnoxious, for the others, smile on her face.

“[You want me to translate?]” The blonde Italian girl looked up at the two English speaking girls. While she was here on foot, for security reasons and because Anzio couldn't just send a tank into a possible trap, the allies, as Anzio classified the collaboration of Saunders and Gloriana, had shown up with one of their tanks.

“[It's kind of annoying that her English is as good as mine.]” Kay jumped down from the tank, briefly lost her balance but managed to not tumble. Spreading her arms, Kay gestured for Darjeeling to jump. “[Come!]”

“[A lady does not engage in behavior such as that.]” Darjeeling, in full uniform, made two stops as she jumped down the tank and landed next to Kay. “[I am supreme commander of the British Forces of St. Gloriana, Darjeeling-]”

“[We know who you are. I am Carpaccio.]” The girl didn't bother with rank and assignment. “[Before we discuss payment for services about to be rendered, which language do you require me to translate from?]”

“[Russian.]” Darjeeling intentionally didn't divulge the circumstances.

“[Russian is perhaps one of the most difficult languages in use in this competition.]”

 _Of course you would say that._ Kay shrugged it off. “[We know Anzio is listening in on everyone and spying enough to put America to shame. You will be adequately compensated but we will not be held ransom.]”

“[You obtained a supply crate recently. Our commander would like me to bring back as much cheese and flour as you can bear to part with for my services.]”

“[You're trying to make Pizza, right? You're totally trying to make pizza. Are you gonna use a tank's engine as an oven to bake it?]”

Both Carpaccio and Darjeeling ignored Kay's rambling. Darjeeling pulled a thick, red cloth from beneath her uniform and handed it to Carpaccio. “[Please put on this hood. Compensation does not include the location of our base.]”

Carpaccio felt threatened but she had expected as much. Everything they knew about the allies painted a picture of two capable leaders, which was deeply troubling for their opponents. _I didn't expect those leaders to be at odds with each other like this. Saunder's commander is clearly fooling around while Gloriana's commander is very matter of fact._ Putting on the hood, Carpaccio was suddenly grabbed from behind by a third and fourth person and lifted up to the tank, forced inside.

Kay and Darjeeling both stayed outside because the tanks were not pleasure rides; they were not that spacious. Darjeeling noticed a significant change in route and was about to go inside and question the driver when she changed her mind. “[Kay, what did you tell the driver?]” Darjeeling kept her voice down, so only Kay could understand her.

“[You blindfolded her so she can't see, but she can still tell how long we are driving by counting seconds. She knows what kind of tank we used to transport her and how hard the engine is being driven by listening to it and feeling the heat. It's possible to track down the location of our base with that. So I am having us take a significant detour to falsify the data of where we are going.]”

“[I cannot believe the girl that kept _MINE_ written on her cheek for a full day would think that far ahead.]”

“[Believe it or not, I **am** Saunder's commander. And if I wasn't at least pretty smart, I wouldn't be in love with an even smarter woman.]”

“[You should practice your flattery.]” Darjeeling tried to look unimpressed, but she couldn't hide a small smile. _Kay's earnest nature really does strike through with what I love about her. In a situation like this, to fall in love is to leave your back wide open for a knife. Still.. I know Kay would never even feel the temptation of betraying me. Or cheating on me._

“[You know, I've been thinking.]”

“[Oh? Now that is surprising.]”

Kay completely ignored the poisonous jab. “[It should be pretty obvious to all the noteworthy teams by now that we two are more than just allies. So they must also think that we are allies because we are dating. **So** I thought, what if we spread rumors of us fighting. What if we fake a situation where information will leak out that the alliance might break apart due to our personal relationship? Then we send out some of Saunder's tanks, as a patrol unit and bait. They will think; there is no way Gloriana will come to their aid, so let's take them on. And then you swoop in.]”

“[That is very risky. And why are you the bait?]”

“[I can't ask my beautiful wife to be the bait.]”

“[Then what are you, from my perspective?]”

“[The dashing hero! Heroine!]”

“[You are so full of yourself, Kay.]” Darjeeling had not even the smallest, obscure hint of disappointment or berating in her voice. _In a way, she is quite pure. Perhaps more so than I am, for thinking that it is only because she is Kay that she will not stab me in the back is not something a pure maiden would do._

“[I think the plan would work best if we tried to bait one of the smaller schools. Ooarai knows us, so they **probably** know it's a trap.]”

“[For how much you fool around, you are delightfully capable when you put your mind to it.]”

“[War, women, I do great at everything when I try.]”

“[I can't tell if you are complimenting me, or yourself.]”

“[Maybe both.]”

“[I think your plan is too risky to put in action before we know what Pravda is really after and what will happen with Kuromorimine.]”

“[There is no way they're going to take us and Pravda on at the same time all on their own.]”

“[If this competition turns into a web of teams temporarily allied to us and the remainder temporarily allied to Kuromorimine, it will become a gargantuan powder keg.]”

“[One spark and **kaboom.** ]”

“[Our alliance is most likely going to be the catalyst that changes the very nature of this competition.]”

“[You think they're going to put rules in place against alliances?]”

“[I heavily doubt so. They are part of the tactical and strategical environment this competition provides over regular tankery matches. If anything, for the audience it could be quite interesting to see where this all leads.]”

“[You think we're popular?]”

“[Perhaps. Definitely so in America and Britain. And-]” Darjeeling went quiet and listened. Raising her finger in front of her lips, gesturing _sssh_ to Kay, she then banged on the roof of the tank three times and within seconds the engine went quiet.

 _What is she doing? Why the silence?`We're traveling with a tank, just turning off the sound is not going to make us invisible to our-_ Kay realized what Darjeeling had been after. A number of thunder echoed from the distance and there was now smoke rising on the horizon. “A battle?” Kay whispered, so there was no need to speak English.

“It seems so.” Darjeeling opened the hatch and poked her head inside. “[Drive].” Closing up in a hurry, Darjeeling grabbed Kay's hand. “[Pen and Paper?]”

“[Got some on me.]”

“[Write down what I am going to say.]” Darjeeling closed her eyes and focused on the echoing sounds emitted by tanks firing. _Six… seven… fire. Three.. four… five… fire. Two… one… impact. Two… impact._ Darjeeling had spent many hours watching the matches of other teams, even minor schools such as Viking Fisheries and Blue Division. She could discern a number of tank models by sound alone if she was lucky.

Kay wrote down the few words that Darjeeling said for the next five minutes. _How can she tell that much just from hearing the firing sounds? Wasn't there a saying about walls having ears? Wait… I think that was something related to spies._

After six minutes, Darjeeling opened her eyes. “[We are too far away now.]”

“[Do you have super hearing?]”

“[You are impressed by this?]” Darjeeling felt flattered. “[We did not get a lot of useful information, I'm afraid.]”

“[From the looks of it, it was probably Chi-Ha-Tan and… how do you pronounce that again?]”

“[Bonple High School.]” Darjeeling didn't even need to look. “[I definitely heard the characteristic sound of Chi-Ha-Tan's Type 97. The others were, I am almost certain 7TP and 9TP models.]”

“[That doesn't sound familiar. What country are those from?]”

“[Poland. A country in Europe, to the west of Russia. I have seen their matches numerous times and they highly prefer tactics that revolve around hit and run tactics.]”

“[How reliable do you think this is?]”

“[At least one in three. Considering that all I had to go on was sound, those are not terrible odds.]”

“We don't have a lot of alone time left, so-” Kay didn't speak loud enough to for any microphone to pick her up. Moving over to Darjeeling, she used both her index fingers to turn her girlfriend's serious expression into an awkward smile. “Smile a little. You've been tense all day.”

 _What… is she doing?_ The British girl couldn't quite understand what Kay was doing to her. Or wanted to. Backed away a little, just her upper body, Darjeeling exposed Kay to a questioning gaze. “What was that supposed to achieve?” She couldn't help but smile on her own in amusement.

“Mission accomplished, you're smiling.”

“Most certainly am not.”

“You totally are!”

“Your eyes must be playing tricks on you after attempting to keep me up all night.”

“I didn't hear any complaining last night.”

“This does raise the question of where exactly you learned how to bring such pleasure to another girl.”

“Oh, I was **that** good? Hah.”

“Not half as good as you believe.”

“Nope, too late, you already said _such pleasure_.”

“The finer workings of eloquence are lost on you, Kay.”

“You can tell me all about _eloquence_ tonight.”

“Perhaps.” Darjeeling smiled wider now. _At least I quickly learned that it is best to just entertain this side of Kay. She can be quite funny, in an unexpected way._

=== Tea and Cola ===

“I would have died back there without you.” Kay sat on the floor and was wolfing down a bar of dark chocolate. “If I hear one more word of Russian today I am going to cry blood.”

“Normally I would tell you to cease exaggerating, but-” Darjeeling took off her competition uniform, still wearing her Gloriana battle attire beneath. “Today I have to agree. That was exhausting, to say the least.”

Kay, sitting there with legs crossed, slapped her right thigh twice. “Wanna sit?” To her surprise, Darjeeling actually walked over to her and, as elegantly as she could, sat on Kay's lap. “Oh, what did I do to earn this?”

“You were a good commander today.”

Chuckling, Kay put her right arm around Darjeeling's waist and held a piece of chocolate in front of her girlfriend with her left. “Want one?”

“No thank you.”

“More for me.” Flicking the chocolate right over Darjeeling's head, Kay caught it perfectly with just her mouth.

“It seems you used up all the energy necessary to behave like an adult.”

“I behave my age.”

“Clever.” Darjeeling smiled by herself for a moment before she put down the saucer and just held on to her cup. Putting her hand on top of Kay's, she allowed herself to be uncharacteristically slovenly; leaning back against her girlfriend and letting out a huge, tired sigh. “Negotiations in real life are so much worse than the ones I read about.”

“You like wartime novels or something?”

“Hm? Not especially. I do like _stuff_ with politics and intrigue. I suppose they cut out all the unnecessary or redundant stuff.”

“I would fall asleep if I had to read a transcript of that catastrophe we went through.”

“Not even a British lady could hope to stay awake through that.”

“Are all Russians so long winded?”

Darjeeling hesitated and slowly pushed her fingers in the tiny spaces between Kay's. “Most likely not.”

“What are you drinking?”

“Some of the black tea I set aside for tiring days. Would you like a taste?”

“If I said that to you, you would totally think I meant mouth to mouth.”

“Tired I may be, but tea still has to be respected.” Darjeeling slowly reached about her left shoulder with the cup. “Have a taste.”

Smelling the tea for a second, Kay slurped in the most unrefined way from the cup. “Oh, that's good.”

“I'm involved with a barbarian.” Darjeeling took the cup away and silently, gracefully, partook from it herself.

“You're totally speaking casually. Are my barbarian ways rubbing off on you?”

“The least refined person in a room always drags everyone else down to their level. Or so the saying goes. It is lead that stains even gold and diamonds in a rubbish black that defiles the eye.”

“You lost me.”

“But it was a very plain metaphor.”

“No, no, no. For **you** , maybe. But that's like I'm gonna try to explain the wonders of hamburgers and eating an entire hamburger in one big bite. You wouldn't get it.”

“It is impossible to eat a hamburger in one bite, Kay.”

“I've done it.”

“You… did?”

“I'll show you if we find stuff to make em.”

“No thank you.”

“I can touch my nose with my tongue, too.”

“Full of wonderful talents, aren't you.”

“Everyone can do a few amazing but totally pointless things. I bet you got some silly stuff hidden too.”

“Even if I do, I would only show them to someone if we were engaged.”

“Wow, you British don't slow down at all with your relationships.” Kay laughed and now put her other arm around Darjeeling as well. “Maybe slow down a little though. I'm not ready to talk engagements and stuff.”

“Neither am I. You Americans really like to jump the gun on all matters.”

“You know, we've been calling each other American and British and stuff. I stopped noticing we're just pretending at some point. It's fun enough that it's not a bother at all. The speaking English is annoying though.”

“Taxing, yes. Annoying, I can't really agree. English has some really noble ways to express yourself. I will have to put further efforts into studying it.”

“You think we'll have another chance to participate in this?”

“Perhaps. Even if we end up graduating before a second competition is held-”

“There's university level tankery.”

“It feels like university is still a long time away.”

“You know, with this competition and the broadcasting and the jumping on of sponsors, you think tankery will become a professional sport you can do for money? They got super highly paid football, baseball, tennis and what not players around the world, so-”

“Is that something you would like to do?”

“For a living? Yeah, I think so. This stuff here; the whole being out on the battlefield, organizing troops, fraternizing with beautiful British girls and leading the charge, that just speaks to me.”

“I didn't think you liked it that much.”

“We're both captains of our clubs, so of course we like tankery a lot, but until now it was just a club. I was really serious about it already, but with this, I think a lot of my girls will actually think about their future a second time. If this turns into an opportunity where we can become professional tankery… athletes? Is that the right term?”

“Probably.” Darjeeling finished her tea and put down the cup. Shifting around on Kay's lap, her girlfriend let go quite readily so she could sit in a more comfortable way, with her legs stretched out. “Kay Saunders, professional tankery player.”

“Kay Saunders? Whose that?” Kay cleared her throat. “[ **I am Kay McSaunders!** ]”

“Saying it in English and putting a Mc in front of it does not make it more American.”

“My last name isn't Saunders to begin with!” There was an awkward pause between them and Kay felt defeated somehow. “I guess a comedy routine is hard to do with someone serious like you.”

“Do you want me to call Rosehip?”

“No. I wanna spend time with you while I can.”

“Like this? Or did you have something more… adult in mind?”

“Like this is good for now.”

Sitting there, Darjeeling eventually leaned all the way back, resting her head against Kay's shoulders while Kay herself was using a large crate to support her back. “You think I'd look good with my hair braided like you?” There was a very long moment of silence during which Kay wondered if her love had fallen asleep in her arms. “Darling?”

“I could braid it for you, if you'd like.”

“Were you thinking about what I'd look like?”

“No. I was trying to deduce if you could hold still for long enough for me to braid your hair.”

“I can hold still.”

“Really? Even in bed you toss and struggle.”

“That's because the damn field bed is so tiny! And a sleeping bag is totally new for me!”

“The same conditions apply to me and yet I did not nearly smother you to death with my breasts, as you did with me.”

“There are probably a dozen or so girls in my school that would happily die from that.” Kay felt Darjeeling tense up a little. _Oh shit._

“Oh? Is that so. Now, I will have you tell me their names and show me their faces so I can make sure those fanatics stay a safe distance from your tent.”

“Darling, are you jealous?”

“It's for their protection. You are a woman full of folly, so you might entertain their seeking of death by breast smothering.”

“Darling! That is the kind of woman you think I am?”

Darjeeling didn't respond right away. “I have been meaning to say this… but when when you call me Darling, is that [Darling], from English, or simply a pet name you created by shortening my name?”

“Can't it be both?”

“That will be very confusing, moving forward. We both speak fluently English now, at least well enough to order troops and negotiate terms of a war time agreement, so it isn't like we can simply pretend we don't know the difference.”

“Ugh, that reminds me just how bad I was at English before this. All I knew was like _Oops_ , _Shit_ , and so forth.”

“That must have been a grueling drill, learning English in four months.”

“You didn't have any longer!”

“I was already far more advanced than _Oops_ , however.” Darjeeling lightly turned her head and looked at Kay from the corner of her eyes. “I just didn't use it during matches, so you wouldn't know.”

“You are such an honor student.”

“Now, isn't it you who is jealous?”

“No way.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yeah!” Kay got a little loud and then shut her mouth. “You… you're teasing me!”

“My, Americans sure do are slow on the uptake.”

“Is this how our relationship is going to be like?”

“Of course it is.”

“Figures.” Kay shrugged it off and touched her forehead against Darjeeling's head. “You're a wolf in a princess's clothing.”

 _A sheep's clothing. But I suppose I don't have to correct her._ “Does that make you a magpie?”

“A **magpie**?”

“They seek out noble metals, gemstones, shiny things in general and steal them. You were audacious enough to seek out a gemstone, steal it and then claim it for yourself.”

“Your metaphors are so hard to make sense of.”

“This one was particularly easy.”

“I'm blonde though. Magpies are black and white, right?”

“A lion then, perhaps?”

“I know about lions. The women do all the work while the men just laze around all day and put on airs. But that has nothing to do with my kidnapping you anymore.”

“A magpie that whispers in the ear of a lioness.”

“What am I, a circus? Next you're telling me there's a rabbit or something riding on the ass of the lion.”

“No such thing of course, my magpie.”

“Is… that a thing you're gonna call me? Magpie?”

“You do call me Darling.”

“I'd be happy with Lioness. Lions are awesome. Especially girl lions. They hunt, they run the pack, they do everything. Kinda like me.”

“You are more like a male lion. A very effeminate lion.”

“I'm not that lazy!”

“You are not. But you do enjoy putting on airs, and you are very much about taking the lion's share.”

“Is this another metaphor?”

“Why yes. You attacked a herd of beautiful gazelles, grazing afar from your pack, and you took the most lustrous-”

“I knew it. More metaphors.”

“With the T28, too, you-”

“We both decided on that!” Darjeeling trembled a little in Kay's embrace, then she shook. “You're messing with me again. And I fell for it hook, line and sinker.”

“A metaphor. From you? I am impressed.”

“Does bullying fall under domestic violence?”

Darjeeling rose from Kay's embrace and turned towards her. “Does it honestly upset you? I will stop if it does.”

Kay burst into laughing as if she had waited for this moment. “Darling, you're so silly!” Tempering her laughter when she saw Darjeeling's expression not soften, Kay just strongly shook her head. “I'm a lioness, remember? Or a lion. Either way, I got a thick hide.” Putting her hands on Darjeeling's cheek, Kay smiled so wide that it was hard to tell where laughter stopped and smiling began. “You know how it goes; a beautiful woman can demand even angelic hymns from the devil.”

“I haven't been in a relationship with another girl before, so I can't tell where the lines are just yet.” Darjeeling slowly pushed away Kay's hands. “You really are okay with me calling you my lioness?”

“There's **got** to be a famous British knight associated with lions. The Lion Knight or something. If you're the British lady, I'm the knight.” Kay raised her arms. “I got the brawn for it.”

Darjeeling completely lost control over herself and burst into laughter, even more so than Kay had done so before. “My lioness it is then.”

“[Commander? What is happening? Is everything all right?]” One of the patrolling guards poked their head inside the tent because she heard unusual noises. Witnessing the situation inside, the guard thought just one thing; _I didn't see anything._ ”[Excuse me.]”

Kay pulled her hands out of Darjeeling's hair, which by all rights could be described as _unhinged_ now. “You think she thinks I am cheating on you?”

“My subordinates recognize me not because of my braided hair.” Darjeeling paused awkwardly. “Not only that, at least.”

“How long will you last out there before a strange metaphor blows your cover?”

“That is most rude.”

“Oh, is it?”

“And how long will you be messing with my hair?”

“Sorry, sorry.” Retreating her hands from her girlfriend's hair, Kay pushed her shoulders back; her back hurt a little. “Once this all is over, sleeping in a real bed is going to feel like heaven.”

Darjeeling groaned a little. “It really will.”

“You know, what happens to the teams that are eliminated?”

“It is probably a logistic nightmare to get them home while the rest of the competition is still going, so I assume they're with the audience or staff.” Getting up from Kay's lap, Darjeeling slapped some dust off her skirt. “I'm going to go and get something to eat.”

“Oh, that sounds good. Unless I get out of here I am just gonna keep eating chocolate.”

“At least you will taste well in that case.”

“Do I usually have bad breath or something?”

“Nothing of the sort. But while I don't enjoy eating chocolate all that much, I do enjoy the taste. If your lips taste like it, I can enjoy the taste without having to eat.”

“You'll be eating me.”

“That… means something else.” _Did she say that not knowing the meaning of her words? Or was this a cleverly disguised play on sentences and meaning, since at some point we will most likely…_

“Hm, really?”

“Have you not dated a girl before me?”

“I haven't dated before you, period.” Kay shrugged and got up. “Your girls are on cooking duty today, right?”

“Yes.”

“Want me to feed you? Hey. Lemme feed you. I always wanted to do that.”

“You have the strangest desires. What is so interesting about feeding me?” Darjeeling waited for Kay at the tent's exit and flipped a mental switch. “[Come. I do not want to be late.]”

“[You're always kind of stiff when we go out together.]”

“[A commander has to have dignity. And since your dignity is lacking, I have to make up for it.]”

“[My dignity isn't lacking!]”

“[So why is it that so many of your troops treat you with far less respect than mine treat me?]”

“[That's because, you know, I'm more approachable than you.]”

“[Approachable; in other words, you exert less of an authoritative aura than I do. In turn, you command less respect from your troops.]”

“[Ugh, does it really matter? They follow my commands just fine and they don't talk shit about me behind my back either.]”

“[There is nothing inherently wrong with you simply being you, Kay. When the time comes, it will just make it easier to take control of your troops.]”

“[You sneaky-! Planning a coup right under my nose.]”

“[Even if you know, my machinations will stay hidden from your sight and reach of proof; there is nothing you can do.]”

“[You know that if you take over my troops they'll come up and be all like _Hey, commander_ all the time. Or call you by name! Even on the battlefield!]”

“[S-Surely they will adapt to-]”

“[Saunders? Adapt? We are the ones that believe the world adapts to us.]”

“[I am indefinitely shelving these plans of a coup d'etat immediately.]”

“[Heh. You still need me.]”

“[That was the case regardless. I merely would have demoted you to my second in command; my personal aide.]”

“[ **Personal** aide, huh?]”

“[Don't give it a lewd connotation.]”

“[But that is exactly what you had in mind, ain't it?]”

“[Most certainly… not.]”

“[Eh, what was that pause there? I was right, right?]”

“[It looks like we will be eating some sort of pasta. A luxury, almost, out here.]”

Kay started looking around, ignoring that Darjeeling had just changed the topic to avoid answering. “[That blasted Italian isn't around anymore, right?]”

“[You disliked her?]”

“[Hm, I guess dislike is the wrong word? Like, I can't trust someone that speaks like five languages. They're like a movie spy, totally untrustworthy.]”

“[I was impressed by her ability to speak both English and Russian that well. There is no doubt she also speaks Japanese and Italian, and considering that Kuromorimine is a powerhouse school, she most likely also speaks German.]”

“[Yeah, she said she does. I asked.]” Kay sped up a little, grabbed one of the metal dishes, supplied by her own school, and got in line like everyone else. There was quite some chatter going on about their deal with the Russians. “[I'm gonna eat until you have to roll me back to the tent. Who knows if we'll have any breaks tomorrow.]”

“[I will just leave you here if you eat that much. The field bed cannot handle that much excess weight.]”

“[It's a metaphor!]”

“[There is a difference between a metaphor and an idiom.]”

“[You are so thickheaded.]”

“[And yet it does not match your stubbornness.]”

“[I'm not stubborn.]” Kay paused.”[This doesn't count.]”

“[Eat in moderation. We don't know how the situation will develop over night. If Kuromorimine catches wind of our plan, it might well turn into a night attack.]”

“[They'd be crazy to attack us at night. They're a top level tankery school, they wouldn't do something stupid like that.]”

“[I sure hope you are right. But Kuromorimine has invested a lot of time into infantry drills that are designed to cooperate with their armed vehicles. A war on two fronts.]”

“[We outnumber them. We got more tanks and more supplies and we're holed up in a forest that gives us some really good defensive advantages. No way they are gonna attack us.]”

“[You attacked us with a strong numerical disadvantage, despite our defensively advantageous position and you succeeded in taking the commander hostage and escape with her.]”

“[Aren't I awesome?]”

“[I am not… entirely denying that, but the point-]”

“[Yeah, I get it. Oh, gimme a large portion.]” Kay talked to the pretty British girl that even managed to find an apron. There was not a lot of sauce to go with the pasta, but it was a big step up from field rations of any kind.

A couple minutes later, Kay and Darjeeling sat at one of the numerous provisional tables, metal folding ones, eating with their subordinates. There was no space, or protocol, for the commanders to have their own table. “[It's just tomato sauce, but it's not bad. Could be a bit more spicy.]”

“[It's already plenty spicy.]” Darjeeling's face was flushed red and her plate was only half empty yet.

“[Oho? Is there someone weak to spicy food?]”

“[There is nothing shameful about preferring mild foods.]”

“[Eh, really?]” Kay stuffed her face with a smile. “[So, what food do you like? Fish and Chips?]”

“[Kay, I only lead the British forces.]”

“[But I like hamburgers.]”

“[I am not you.]”

“[So what **do** you like?]” Kay spoke with her mouth full and then hurriedly swallowed. “[Tea doesn't count! That's not food. And tea flavored snacks also don't count!]”

 _She can be so nosy. I understand that she wants to know about me, but does she have to talk with her mouth full all the time?_ _It's so unrefined._ “[Paella. I enjoy good Paella. And sea food in general.]”

“[Not my favorite but I like sea food, too. We got a few nice places in Nagsaki.]”

“[I didn't know you were from Nagasaki.]”

“[Where are you from? Funny that we don't even know that about each other.]”

“[Yokohama, in Kanagawa.]”

“[Uwah… that's far. I'm gonna be on the road for half a day when I come visit you.]”

“[You plan on visiting me? I rarely do go back home.]”

“[How else am I gonna get introduced to your parents?]”

Darjeeling chocked a little and started coughing. “My parents?!”

“[What? You think I'm just spouting big promises and won't make every effort to be your girlfriend once we're done kicking the asses of everyone out there?]” Kay looked sideways, put down her fork and hugged Darjeeling. “[I didn't go to all that effort of raiding Gloriana just to lose you!]”

“[Kay, a normal woman would be intimidated by the weight of your feelings.]” _And quite frankly, I am, a little._ _But I will not crack._ “[It would be much more proper if you introduced me to your parents first.]” _That should make her_ _back down for a while. Our relationship might have started and progressed at speeds faster than any tank, faster than fired shells still, but a speed like that is unsustainable._

“[Oh, sure. You want me to come pick you up?]”

 _I should have known better. This is Kay I am talking-? Thinking about._ “[You are jumping too far ahead, Kay.]”

“[Aw, come on. It'll be a week or two, maybe more, before we cleaned up here and then we'll go back to school and probably have to take remedial classes- I know I have to!]” Kay laughed it off. _That is so going to suck. I need to get Darling's number before that_. “[So, like three months or something before our next trip home.]” Still hugging Darjeeling, Kay kissed her cheek. “[A few months from now – still too early to introduce me to your parents? I'm not telling you to introduce me as your family as the girl you'll marry, just your girlfriend!]”

“[So you will date me, but you are telling me now you do not like me enough to marry me?]”

“[That is not what I said and you know it!]” Kay blew up her cheeks and then let out a surprised _Ah_. “You're messing with me again!”

“Your reactions are **very** entertaining. But could you unhand me now? I'd like to finish my meal.” She couldn't speak without a grin on her face. _She is not what I expected; seeing her from afar, barely knowing her. But I am happy that what you see is not always what you get. Sometimes things are better beneath than what they look on the outside. Of course, Kay already looks very good on the outside_.

“You're doing that face again.”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“You're looking at me all thoughtful and not saying anything. It's like your mouth is supposed to move and make words come out of it, but it doesn't, so they are all bottled up in your head.”

“The British say: Mystery intrigues the mind – but a good mystery intrigues the soul.”

“I have **no** idea what you're saying.”

“I am not telling you what I am thinking.” Darjeeling glanced towards her girlfriend. “[Now unhand me, wench.]”

“[Wench?]” Kay did let go of the other blonde and sat back. “[What does wench mean? I got what **wrench** means, but that would be really weird.]”

“[You need to study more, Kay.]” _The noodles are only lukewarm now. I better hurry, or they will be cold before I am finished._

Kay turned to the girl on her other side, a brunette that wore Gloriana's uniform. “[What does wench mean?]”

The girl quickly grabbed her dish and got off the bench. “[I'm sorry commander, I have to return to duty.]”

“[I am getting the feeling you said something mean to me, Darling.]”

Darjeeling covered her mouth. “[Certainly nothing uncalled for.]”

“[That means it was something mean.]” Kay slid across the bench to the next girl, a redhead, that was also from Gloriana. “[Just tell me, what does wench- come back!]” Kay started to get annoyed. “[Why is everyone running away from me?]”

“It's an archaic word. Can mean a maid, a waitress in a tavern, a prostitute. In some areas it was a general term for girls between twelve and twenty years as well.” Assam had appeared out of nowhere, by Darjeeling's side. “[Commander, Rosehip has been worryingly uneasy about our lack of operations today.]”

Darjeeling was still eating, quickly but not **as** quickly as Kay, and nodded towards Kay. Assam then stepped aside and looked right at the American commander, who was trying to glare at Darjeeling, with minimum success. “[Commander Kay, about Rosehip-]”

“[Can't you just take her out on a recon mission? Patrol or something?]” Kay was too focused on Darjeeling to notice the glint in Assam's eye. “[Just make sure you take a fast tank and don't go too far from the base. Heh, I sound like I'm your mother.]” Kay scratched her cheek and was back to smiling. “[Darling, calling me a wench is too much.]”

“[In my defense, I actually did not know it could refer to a prostitute.]” Darjeeling didn't want Kay to feel insulted.

“[I'm surprised you knew, Assam.]” Kay looked at where Assam had been standing. “[Huh? Where 'd she go?]”

_I wonder if Kay even realizes what fate she resigned Rosehip to. To go on patrol with Assam? It is nothing short of casting a rabbit in front of a hungry eagle, who has been waiting patiently for a chance to sweep down from high above._

“[And again! You're doing it again!]”

“[What a pity it is you cannot read me mind.]”

Kay got closer again and stared really intently at Darjeeling from the side.

“[Staring… will not let you read my mind, Kay.]” A chuckle, then giggle. _I cannot tell if she is simple minded, merely easy going or an airhead. In any case she is amusing_.

“[No, I bet it will. I just have to try really hard.]”

“[Kay, your subordinates are looking at you strange already. And so are mine for that matter.]”

Kay and Darjeeling both overheard a pair of girls from Saunders that walked by and spoke about them with their mouths covered by their hands. “[Did you see? The commander is harassing some poor girl from Gloriana. She is so going to get into trouble with commander Darjeeling.]”

Darjeeling looked mighty unhappy with herself. “[How could they not realize it is me?]”

“[I **told** you, it's the hair!]”

“[I completely forgot that you turned my beautiful braided hairstyle into this chaotic mess.]”

“[I think you look sexy with your hair down.]”

“[A commander should look dignified, stern. Not sexy.]”

“[Nope, sexy is best.]”

“[Kay, listen to what-]”

“Sorry, I don't understand, I don't speak English.” Kay tried very hard to not laugh. “[Me not talk English.]”

“[Kay!]”

 _It's so cute how she gets angry over this._ “[Yes?]”

“[Do not _Yes_ me.]”

“[I hate- no, actually I don't hate to interrupt your lover's quarrel.]” Alisa had sought out her commander. “[Kay, there is trouble coming towards us.]”

Kay stopped staring at Darjeeling and directed her attention at her second in command. “[Who is attacking us? Why is nobody ringing the alarm?]”

“[The weather. It's the weather. Have you taken a look at the sky today?]”

“[Please, how bad- Uh oh.]” Kay looked straight up and didn't like what she was seeing. “[This is gonna blow over. We're on a ship, on the ocean, it'll blow over.]”

“[I had someone travel to the edge of the competition area and check the skies. It's black all the way to the horizon.]”

“[That's bad.]” Kay realized something else. “[Wait, you send someone out there without asking me or Darling?]”

“[This sort of thing is exactly why I am your second-in-command and what I need to take care of without coming to you and asking mom for permission.]”

“[This does look quite bad.]” Darjeeling looked at the sky as well. “[It could be quite the storm. Kay, do you think Pravda knew about this?]”

“[Eh, maybe? I don't think it matters, though?]”

“[It is strategical suicide to launch an operation when a storm is coming.]”

“[We competed during bad weather before.]”

“[We didn't have bases to secure and this many people to shelter. And if the weather got too bad, the match got called off, Kay.]”

“[So maybe they'll call a timeout.]”

“[They won't. I guessed you would think that so I contacted the staff.]”

“[Oh. Right. We can do that in case of rule inquiries and stuff. Totally slipped my mind.]” Kay looked like there was no issue whatsoever with that slipping her mind.

“[I take it there will be no staff called ceasefire due to the storm.]”

“[You're right.]” _I wish I went to Gloriana instead. I'd prefer to work for her._ “[The official statement is that the strong weather conditions will make for a more interesting environment than regular matches. They are distributing some rainstorm supplies, like extra long metal stakes to keep the tents standing and some rain gear to run operations without being soaked to the bone. I already dispatched a group to get some for us. I also talked to Orange Pekoe and she sent out a group from Gloriana. We might be allied, but this is an official supply distribution, so we have to show up separately.]”

“[Your second in command seems more capable than you are. What are you going to do, Kay?]” Darjeeling slightly mean smirk didn't faze Kay.

“[Alisa's super at organizing but she always flies off the handle, treats the rules like dirt and she doesn't know how to be popular with the troops. She's a great second in command, but she'd be awful if she did my job.]”

“[Ugh… if you keep running your mouth I'll show you-]”

“[Alisa, we've been there. I had over a dozen complaints about your attitude and the way you behaved. I'm glad you're here and my right hand, so don't try to be good at something you know you aren't. For what it's worth, I couldn't do your job. Darling couldn't either. And I'm pretty sure you even beat Assam at what you do.]”

“[With a thickheaded rude girl like you as my commander I can't tell if you're flattering me or being an ass!]”

“[I believe she is complimenting you in her own way. Kay, you need a lot of training in understanding a maiden's heart.]”

“[Huh? I'm a maiden too, you know.]”

“[You are more like a bear than a maiden.]”

Alisa nodded. “[I can see that.]”

“[Both of you teaming up on mean, you're like hyenas!]”

“[Hyenas and Lions do have a very intricate and sensible relationship with each other.]”

“[What?]” Alisa couldn't kelp up with them. “[Anyway, you still need to inform everyone that we're going to be in the middle of a big storm.]”

“[First a lion, then a bear, can I be a dragon nest?]”

“[You certainly do hoard my attention and time much like a fantastical scaled beast that is obsessed with treasure and territorial claims. Why, you might be comparable to the legendary-]”

“[Stop, stop, **stop**! I hit my hourly metaphor limit.]”

“[You are no fun.]”

=== Tea and Cola ===

The rain and winds were rattling the tents with the ferocity of a wild and starving beast, clawing desperately at the walls of a chest containing the food it so requires to survive the cold winter days.

“This is way worse than I expected.” Kay sat on the field bed with the light of a field lamp illuminating the tent. It was only shortly after five in the afternoon but it was almost pitch black outside. “Woah, did you hear that? The wind **howled**. It actually howled! I never heard that before!”

Darjeeling was brewing tea over a very small portable gas stove. It was not enough to warm up the tent and the temperature outside had dropped dramatically over the last thirty minutes. “I have seen heavy downpours start within seconds before, but a storm out on the ocean is quite the spectacle. Our ship usually avoids those or we are safely within our homes there.”

“At least we can talk normally.”

“To find something positive in this situation is very admirable. A quality I enjoy about you.” Leaving her tea for the time being, it would take time to draw out the flavor, Darjeeling started by taking off her uniform. To address the troops earlier she had put on the designated uniform the British forces wore. Now, in just her red and black outfit, she stood in front of Kay, who was still in her proper attire. “Now, before night comes, shall we use this chance and spend some time together?”

Lunging forward and grabbing the behind of Darjeeling's thighs, Kay pulled her towards herself; the British girl stumbling forward, her hands landing on her partner's shoulders and her butt setting down on the American's legs. “Between you and the storm, I cannot tell who is less patient.”

“The storm is clawing and rattling the tent because it wants you too? I guess even mother nature can't resist you.”

“That is not- why, you-” Darjeeling blushed when her teasing comment was turned around and used against her. _Darjeeling, do not blush. Even though you are weak against the unexpected, Kay is nothing but the unexpected. You need to remain composed. Com… posed…_

“Something wrong?” Kay had gotten so close to Darjeeling's face that they could feel each other's breath on their faces. “You were doing that face again. I'm not a nosy woman that's gonna ask you to not have any secrets. But you have too many secrets, oh mysterious woman. You are not London herself, covered in the mists that hide everything beneath an indiscernible cover of white.”

“If this is your idea of speaking to me romantically-” Darjeeling closed her eyes and smiled a little. “You and I might match better than expected.”

“I only look dumb.” Kay grinned briefly, her lips soon after occupied, dominated by her partner's own. They both could still taste the spices from before on each other, a slightly burning sensation that carried on all the way to their hearts. Kay's hands went to the butt of the other blonde, sliding beneath the short skirt, moving up and down over her panties.

Darjeeling's hands remained firmly on Kay's cheeks, preventing all routes of escaping from the kiss that grew more intense. Broken by the lightning hammer of the gods far above, the outside lit bright for an instant, the two gazed at each other's eyes in the dimly lit insides of their private world, Light blue eyes connecting with each other, a staring contest that lasted a perceived hour, yet was over by the time the booming anvil of thunder was hammered on, they were no longer distant from each other, eyes no longer meeting but shut away in the dark behind cover.

The bed beneath them creaked dangerously; the rain outside hammered on the tent like the wrath of a thousand guns; the light seemed to fade away with every moment as they stuck together – Darjeeling's hands moving down on Kay's shoulders, unbuttoning her uniform. Once lightning struck once more, Darjeeling hurriedly pulled down the piece of clothing, trapping Kay's arms in an awkward position.

Kay freed herself when the roar of thunder scared many a girl in the tents within their base, the uniform hanging from her waist to her back. The tent rattled precariously, as if it were to fly away any second. It mimicked the feelings the two of them shared; a lust for each other, a tension – desire, to push each other down and take control. And still, self control created a fragile equilibrium of equality, of give any take.

Darjeeling herself unbuttoned her own uniform, while Kay got rid of her jacket, pulling the black shirt beneath over her head. By all right, she should have felt a chill as she bared herself, but being right beside Darjeeling created more heat than even a blazing fire could provide at close range. Darjeeling too, revealing the black and simple bra she wore beneath, tried to take off her uniform, but Kay stopped her short by grabbing her wrists. “That half undressed look… like the noble commandant that you are, caught in a situation so unbecoming, that is what I like most.”

“Despite how plain my underwear is?”

“Plain suits you well. Your looks and your personality are already so fancy...” Feeling the softness of Darjeeling's breasts with her fingertips and the fabric of the bra with her palms, Kay licked her lips in erotic anticipation. “Anything fancy you wear would end up competing and losing badly with the rest of us.”

“My, you certainly know how to sweet talk me.” Ignoring the danger of the fragile construction they sat on, Darjeeling slid forward on Kay's lap, pushing hard against her hips; her legs bent backwards to accommodate herself as much as possible, to get as close to Kay's lustful body as she could.

Lightning hit something far away, outside, creating a loud bang, a flash of light during which the two could see each other's faces clearly, red as beets, expressions born from the desire to have sex right there and now. Darjeeling, with her uniform opened up, baring her chest and belly; Kay with her top bare entirely, her long blond hair falling over her shoulders and tickling lightly against her own skin and Darjeeling's both.

Nobody was going to come and disturb them. Nobody was going to infringe on their time alone. Locked, hidden, protected by the rain and the storm, the two crashed onto the field bed that withstood the shock just barely, creaking most dangerously again and again as two bodies rubbed against each other; as hands were reaching intimate places and moans were exchanged in-between and during passionate kissing; tongues going in and out of mouths, meeting and testing their mettle against each other in wet, hot, slippery combat.

A red uniform was thrown hastily onto the ground – a black bra following just seconds later. A completely different corner of the tent receives a pair of jeans hotpants that Kay energetically kicked away after they were pulled down to her knees, the British girl drawing lines and trails of saliva over her chest and stomach, down between her hips and wetting the already soaked panties.

Pushing aside the intolerable fabric, Darjeeling tasted Kay for the first time truly. A taste that was unlike anything she had ever had before. The standard senses could not describe it properly. For the blonde from Yokohama, it tasted like a love she had realized by complete accident; a lust that had become an adventure and was now changing again, into something she held dear within herself; something she would never let go willingly.

Kay's moaning surpassed even the noisy hammerings of the rain; a positively melodic orchestra of passion for the girl pleasuring her. Raising her legs, she forced them over Darjeeling's back, pushing down on her, forcing her beautiful face hard against her groin. Nibbling, sucking, playful biting; Kay was subjected to all of it. And then she felt something inside her and her breath remained stuck in her chest for a moment – escaping all at once when the something was warm, slippery and wriggling about.

Feverish passion consumed them both as they continued, as they changed places and Kay returned to the suddenly hesitant and fidgeting Darjeeling as she had done to her. Both of them felt hot – their backs and legs covered in sweat from the sensations that made their hearts hammer harder still than the winds could shake the tent around them.

Looking down on Darjeeling as she laid there on the field bed, Kay grabbed her right leg and raised it up. “Lets see if this feels as good as everyone says it does.” Pushing her hips against Darjeelings, Kay realized quickly that words alone were insufficient to tell exactly how good it felt, how connected she felt. There was nothing between them – their bodies put together at their most intimate spot, Darjeeling frantically tried to grab Kay's arm but couldn't rise up long enough to do so; her body shaken by Kay's movements, the rubbing, fiery sensation that made her lose her mind. It felt like fireworks were going off behind her eyes, blinding her for anything that was not Kay and everything she had discovered she loved about her.

Insatiable, Kay grabbed Darjeeling by her arms and pulled her up, forcing her legs past her own; one over, one below. Facing her love, the one she had met and taken on by complete accident, Kay understood that sometimes, in some places, fate really did have to exist. There was no explaining what she felt otherwise, not after a mere few days together.

Lightning flashed once more, the thunder on its trail drowned out by their moaning and panting, their eyes looking only at each other, as if the world around them not only didn't matter but didn't exist.

“Kay… I might be… about to...” Other than moaning and gasping, Darjeeling was the silent type that didn't speak during sex.

“Good… because I'm not gonna last much longer myself.” Compared to her partner, Kay was the type to endlessly prattle on, whispering naughty little things in the ears of her consort, enjoying the tensing and embarrassed looks that they produced.

The storm got more intense still as both girls cried out each other's names, clinging to each other, their emotions and sensations overwhelming their minds. They were no more commander of armies; they were but teenage girls in love with each other and nothing more than that.

=== Tea and Cola ===

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to have an Assam x Rosehip scene as well. If this gets a part 4, I'll definitely make that happen.


	4. Chapter 4

“I'm reporting you to human resources after this.”

“Now, will you? Perhaps you would have preferred to freeze, to catch a cold and have to be pulled-”

“I hate you.”

“Do you now? Maybe I should leave you be and-”

“I **really** hate you.”

“Do you hate being warm, too?”

Rosehip puffed up her cheeks and struggled to get free, with far less than enough force to actually make Assam let go. Down to her underwear, like Assam, Rosehip huddled up against the warm wall that covered the engine of the tank. Using a fire smothering blanket as cover, she and Assam warmed each other after getting soaked to the bone by the torrential rain.

They were two of four. Their driver and radio operator shared the second fire blanket, right next to them. The warmth and the noises of the rain had made the two brunettes fall asleep a while ago. The engine was running in relative silence, compared to the rain, and both Rosehip and Assam were bickering with whispers ever since the others fell asleep.

“Take your hands off of me.” Rosehip kept demanding and Assam kept refusing. “Don't touch my butt!” Rosehip's hissing created a reaction from the sleeping brunettes and she blushed in embarrassment. She was a good soldier and she wanted to be an even better ally. The two brunettes were Americans and she didn't want them to tattle on Kay that she couldn't keep her mouth shut.

Assam was not deterred by Rosehip's complaints. _If she truly did wish for me to back off properly, she would resist much harder_. “A beautiful girl like you, headstrong, passionate, courageous… what bother is it if another beautiful girl gets a little intimate with you?”

“Compliments… are not gonna help you.” Rosehip struggled again, lightly, when she felt Assam's hand move across her butt. “Do you do this to all girls? Take advantage of them?”

“Only you.”

“What did I ever do to you?” Rosehip got goosebumps when Assam's hand moved upwards from her butt, across her back and then around her side, stopping just under her breasts. “S-Stop,” Rosehip hissed again.

Leaning against Rosehip, intentionally so that her own breasts were like soft cushions for Rosehip's left arm, Assam suddenly bit her ear, softly so not to hurt her. “To lie to yourself like this… when you so clearly enjoy it.” Rosehip was so startled that she forgot to shriek and just froze. Assam nibbled on her ear, then licked the inside a little bit. “Am I not good enough for you? I can tell that it is not that you dislike girls in general.”

_She's so pushy! She's worse than any of my brothers!_ “You're just messing around with me because commander Darjeeling got together with that American.”

“Is that what you think?”

Rosehip was very confident in her own assumptions. “Yeah.”

“I have liked you for much longer than the time of this competition.” Assam tightened her embrace, blowing a bit of hot air on the redhead's neck. “Of course you wonder why I never acted on it before, but how was I to know you were interested in girls? But now...” Assam lined up her face so that Rosehip would meet her eyes if she looked at her from the corner of her eyes. “You bathed with me, knowing how I feel. You are not bothered at all about commander Darjeeling's girlfriend. It is clear that you share our preferences.”

“I totally don't!”

“Then, this doesn't excite you?” Assam, her right arm going behind Rosehip's back, slowly groped the girl, the tips of her fingers reaching above the bra, touching her skin directly. “You are quivering, completely and perfectly straight Rosehip.”

“Pervert.” Rosehip figured that doubling up on the denial was not going to work. She was an all-or-nothing girl. If she did something, she was going all-in on it. Except when she knew that where she was heading was obviously a dead-end. And she could tell that Assam was not going to back off. “You… really like me?”

“Would I be doing this if I did not? I am a lady, not a flirt.”

“I don't do things halfway. If you wanna be with me you better commit!”

_Of course I know. This full steam ahead personality of yours is one of your greatest charm points. Although it is highly amiss within the ranks of Gloriana. But that too makes you more desirable._ “Are you asking me to marry you in due time?”

Rosehip looked dumbfounded for a moment and opened her mouth but no words came out. Then a blush as fierce and red as the sun at dusk came on her face. “What would you give that idea?!” Raising her voice like that, Rosehip's lips were sealed by Assam's to stop her from waking up the others. A quick kiss, not meant to be anything more than a surprise to silence her.

“I-I'm just saying… if you want me to be your girlfriend, you better not get bored of me or cheat or- hmmph!” Another kiss, much more forceful this time, and she could taste a sweet something on Assam's lip; faint, but distinctive. “Stop kissing me!” Rosehip realized too late that she raised her voice again and immediately put a smack on Assam's hips. “There, a kiss for shouting,” she hissed.

“I never knew how cute you could be with an angry expression like this. Or is that embarrassment?”

“And **I** didn't know you're a bully.”

“I apologize. But if you were worried that my interest in you was just passing...” Assam smirked lightly. “I can absolutely assure you that that is not the case.” Leaning against Rosehip, Assam whispered to her. “I'm in fact totally in love with you. And sitting here with you, in this almost romantic setup, I'm falling for you more with every passing second. But if you ever tell someone I'm talking to you like this, I might accidentally upload a photo of you pretending to be lady Darjeeling.”

“How do you-” Rosehip closed her eyes. “No, don't tell me.”

“But I think I need to warn you. I am quite _hands-on_.”

“I can tell. You're still groping me you perverted lesbian.”

“My, your flattery is quite appreciated.”

“Were you always this sort of girl?”

“Well, this is me. But the polite Assam is also me. Do you prefer one over the other?”

“Not really.”

“So… let me formally ask you. Rosehip, I am in love with you. Please go out with me.”

Any normal person would have been embarrassed or put on the spot by an honest, straightforward confession like that. But not so Rosehip. Whatever she did, she aimed to do her best, to do whatever she could, regardless of what people thought of her. “And you promise you're not going to be bored of me after a week? There are people that just like the chase.”

“Chasing after you would require something much faster than the tanks we drive.”

“What is **that** supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, really.”

“You didn't answer my question.”

“A week, of course not. I fully intent to be with you until the day we graduate. After that, it depends on whether we will continue to Gloriana's college branch.”

“Then yes.”

“Yes what?”

Rosehip shot a quick glance towards the two brunettes that had been asleep under the other blanket, to make sure they were still out. Jumping Assam with all her might, Rosehip pushed her on the lukewarm metal floor, forcefully kissing her in a terribly amateurish way. It wasn't her first kiss; that one went to a different girl from a few years ago, a result of a truth or dare game. But as far as Rosehip was concerned, that didn't matter.

A struggle broke out beneath the blanket almost immediately. Rosehip tried desperately to stay on top of Assam, pinning her down, her amateurish kiss still going, but she underestimate how strong Assam was. Overpowered, both of them rolled to the side, Rosehip's nearly bare back against the warm wall. Struggling more, her arms were held in place just below her wrists by Assam, who was glad that all her tennis playing finally paid off.

“You are positively terrible at kissing.”

“Says who?”

“I, of course.”

“Not like you do any better!”

Assam smiled. “Ssh. The others will wake up.”

“Not like you do any better,” Rosehip hissed this time.

“With how forceful you were I had little chance to show you how it is done.”

“Then show me.” Rosehip's voice was rich with defiance. _I can't be that bad_.

“My pleasure.”

Rosehip's entire body trembled when Assam showed her. Careful, gentle movement of her lips; light, exciting nibbling and perfectly practiced caressing. Rosehip's defiance and stubbornness melted away like ice on a hot summer day. _This… this girl… how…_ Her face turned red, not through embarrassment, but because she felt unbelievably turned on, just from being kissed. Like most girls at Gloriana high school division, she was no stranger to taking care of herself, but this was on a different level.

Irregular gasps of air escaped her when Assam left her terribly excited and aroused. “H-How are you-”

“A lady that fancies other ladies, or a wild, redheaded lass for that matter, ought to be prepared.”

“That doesn't explain anything!” Rosehip raised her voice again and then the two brunettes made noises that closely resembled _waking up_ sounds. Assam and Rosehip both froze.

“Not a word,” Assam's whisper reached Rosehip's ears just barely. “Unless of course you would like them to know that we are now together.”

“I sure don't.” Rosehip whispered back and felt a sting when she saw Assam's expression shift to disappointment for just a short second. “I… didn't mean it like that. I… I don't want everyone to talk about us like they talk about commander dar-”

“Assam? Rosehip?” One of the brunettes had woken up and looked to the pile beneath the other blanket. Waiting for a reply, the girl started to shake the other one, waking her up as well. “Julie, wake up.”

Rosehip's expression went from bad to worse. “What do we do now?” Her voice didn't reach beyond the cover of the blanket due to the rain. Then things got even worse. Assam moved her leg between hers, slowly sliding her upper thigh all the way against her crotch. “What are you doing?” Rosehip tried to burn Assam's face with her stare.

“Quiet now… you wouldn't want them to notice us.” Assam took full advantage of the situation and Rosehip's face turned scarlet; Assam's hands were suddenly resting against Rosehip's breasts. Expertly feeling up her new girlfriend, Assam alternated between smirking and smiling as Rosehip's expression rapidly changed between embarrassment, aroused discomfort and obstinate anger.

Trying to get a hold of Assam's arms, Rosehip couldn't keep her away, or at bay; not without alerting the other two, that were now chatting about the competition. And she really wanted to keep her involvement with Assam a secret; for now at least. _I'm not embarrassed, I just don't want the others to bug me with questions and stuff._

“I hope Bellwall doesn't spot us.” The girl called Julie was wide awake now, staring at the far wall of the tank in boredom. “Nicolle, you think we're going to fight them next?”

“Didn't we make a deal with Pravda or something?”

“Well, yeah. But Bellwall is one of the bigger schools. They're not gonna stay quiet when all the big players start slugging it out with each other.”

“Kuromori doesn't have much of a chance against us and Gloriana if we also have Pravda at our back.”

Rosehip struggled hard to keep her mouth shut, to suppress her urge to moan out until finally she could no more. An excited gasp of air escaped her and Assam instantly sealed her lips with a powerful kiss.

“Julie, did you hear that?”

“Just one of the brits snoring.”

“Funny snore.”

“Don't make fun of them, Nicolle.”

“You're just saying that because you have the hots for that Rosehip girl.”

“Shut up.”

“You wanna go over and steal a peek? Their clothes are still over there, so she's bound to wear nothing but her undies.”

“And cause an international incident when she reports me.”

“You got no guts.”

“I'm the driver. I need calm judgment before I need guts.”

Both brunettes looked at the other blanket when it suddenly moved about a whole lot and a barely dressed blonde emerged from it, looking terribly sleepy. “Still raining?”

“Yep. Probably gonna last a while longer by the sound of it.”

“Thanks...” Assam pulled the blanket up and went back down, lying right on top of Rosehip, who had been hidden beneath the entire time. Their breasts pushing together, rubbing against each other, Assam slowly, ever so slowly, kissed and licked Rosehip's side of her neck. “I love you, Rosehip.”

“You play dirty.” Rosehip whispered back. In this position there was nothing she could do.

“You despise me for this?”

“Shut the heck up and kiss me instead.” Rosehip was honest with her desires at least. If she was at Assam's every whim she would at least make the most of it. Slowly sliding her arms around Assam's back, Rosehip was glad that the blanket was very unwieldy and thick enough to hide her movement. Sliding over Assam's smooth skin, Rosehip opened the hook on the blonde's bra in an instant, the piece of underwear loosely hanging off Assam's shoulders now, slowly being pushed upwards by their movements.

“I cannot believe you would try to seduce me right under the nose of two unsuspecting girls.” Assam playfully licked her girlfriend's lips before she forced her tongue in. _Every girl that gets to be with the one she loves believes this. Still, I must be the luckiest girl in the world right now._

Making out with Assam like this, right under the nose of people she didn't want to find out about just that, made Rosehip strangely excited. There was a thrill about it that she had never known before. Raising her knee just a little bit, Rosehip felt for the first time just how wet another girl could get from touching her. _It's dripping down on my knee… it's running down my leg. It feels hot…_ Rosehip, still amateurishly, tried to respond to the movement of Assam's tongue and was promptly overpowered, almost entirely on the receiving end of pleasure.

Focusing on what she knew how to do, Rosehip slid her hands on top of Assam's butt, her fingers sliding under the white, plain fabric. The battlefield was no place for fancy underwear and even Assam comforted to that. _Wow… her butt feels amazing. Must be all that tennis she plays_. Crudely groping the blonde's butt, Rosehip forced her knee against her girlfriend's crotch, rubbing until she felt a tremor going through all of Assam's body.

“Do you smell that?” The brunette, Julie, sniffed a few times.

Both of the British girls froze again, Rosehip's knee grinding against Assam's crotch, her hands strongly clutching the girl's butt, their lips together and their eyes locked with each other. _Not a word. Don't move_. Their thoughts aligned so well.

“I smell it too. Kind of… sweet?”

“It smells like… you know.”

“Are you fantasizing about me?”

“I'm not the one that's wet.”

Assam squirmed as Rosehip kept pushing her knee against her. Her wet juices were running down the redhead's left leg. Their hard nipples rubbing against each other with each suppressed breath. But the looks they gave each other made one thing clear; they had no intention of stopping.

=== Tea and Cola ===

Kay, in just her underwear, peeked out of the tent and grumbled. “How is it **still** raining?”

“It has only been about two hours.” Darjeeling sat on the field bed, putting her bra back on. The cold that seeped in from outside the tent was not unwelcome; she was in need of a shower, or at least a wash, and definitely a good cup of tea. 

“That's pretty long! Look how hard it's raining! The ground is gonna be muddy for days.” Kay closed the tent back up and sat down next to Darjeeling. “You wanna go again?”

“Being overly indulgent is not the British way.”

“Come on.” Leaning against her girlfriend, Kay tried to unhook her bra again and was quickly shoved away. “What else are we gonna do?”

“What we should be doing; discuss strategy. We have the documents from Pravda that we have to go through.”

“Ugh, don't remind me.” Kay reached for Darjeeling's back a second time.

“Kay, if you try to take off my bra one more time I am throwing you out into the rain and will not let you back in.” Darjeeling got up and looked for her uniform and when she couldn't spot it among all the stuff they kept in the tent, she just took Kay's instead, the black shirt alone. Wearing just her underwear and Kay's shirt, Darjeeling grabbed the first thick bundle of paper and flipped the first page. They were crude copies of Pravda's operational records and plans for operations against Kuromorimine.

“You look hot with your hair down.”

“Kay.”

“Yeah?”

“Work.”

“Yeah.”

Searching for something specific to wear, Kay picked up Darjeeling's red uniform, leaving it open, and picked up a different bundle of papers. “They totally came into this expecting us to agree.”

“Yes. This level of preparation shows that much.” Darjeeling flipped a page and ignored it when Kay leaned against her, back to back. “From these records it looks like Koala Forest High was entirely wiped out when they were caught between Kuromorimine and Pravda on the second day of the competition.”

“I am getting real tired of calling it _the competition_.”

“I am not giving it some absurd code name, Kay.”

“I'll just call it _the war_.”

“Do as you will.”

“So cold. You're so cold, Darling.”

“Kay, focus. Work.”

Reading through the documents, Darjeeling stopped first to make some tea. “I going to make tea. Do you want a cup?”

“Hm? Sure.”

Watching Darjeeling bend down and expose her panties, Kay smiled in a lecherous way. “You have a super cute butt.”

“Your hands were all over me so I could tell you like my butt. And my breasts. And my lips. And-”

“Wow.”

“It certainly was _wow_.”

“So we're really going to buddy up with Katyusha?”

“Kuromorimine is certainly a threat, even to our combined forces. Alliances are commonplace in war.”

“No confidence in us, huh.”

“I have confidence we could match their strength and tactics in any scenario, but that will not be enough to beat them.”

“You know I prefer to play it clean and fair. No dirty tricks and stuff like overwhelming them with numbers.”

“Hm. I do know. Still, Kay, you understand that this is different from a regular match, yes? A match may be just a skirmish, forces testing the waters. A war is like a bird's first journey of migration, a battle that leads towards the unknown, where life depends on your courage. A test-” Darjeeling stopped when Kay hugged her from behind, her breasts firmly pressed against the British girl's chest. “Kay?”

“Your analogies are as farfetched as your sayings are. I think they're quirky and I kinda like them, but I have no idea what you're saying.”

“The war is above our preferences and ideologies.” Darjeeling turned her head and glanced over her shoulder. “Which is why I agreed to our alliance.”

“You didn't do it because you like me?”

“If it had been a dreadful decision for my school, I would have been forced to swallow my feelings. It would have made me absolutely miserable however.”

“I'm gonna blush.”

“You? Blushing? Color me surprised.”

“Hey! I'm a maiden in love, just like you! I can blush!”

“A maiden, you say? You?” Darjeeling smiled wide, looking happy she could joke with Kay like this. “Perhaps. Your proportions are more those of a lady.”

“I could say the same to you!”

“Mine are most definitely those of a lady, indeed.”

“Ladies shouldn't be that sexy, tho.”

“You think I am sexy?”

“Like, being that sexy and smart together should be illegal. It's monopolization!”

“You are quite the flatterer.”

“I know this is out of nowhere, but what are we gonna do after we win this war?”

“Regarding what?”

“Us!”

“We are both third years at our respective schools. What are your plans after you graduate? I will be attending Gloriana's college division.”

“College, huh… I don't think my grades are good enough for that.”

“So, work perhaps?”

“I didn't have a plan before this war, but now I think maybe tankery becomes like a professional sport all over the world and I can become a pro tankery girl. If it stays professional just in Japan, you can't really make enough money off of that alone.”

“That would certainly suit you.”

“You think?”

“Now, unhand me. I am longing for a cup of tea and I cannot work like this.”

“In war, when you want something, you ought to negotiate, you know?”

“Instead of slapping you with a bundle of Pravda documents, I will provide a kiss if you unhand me now.”

“Deal.” Parting with Darjeeling, Kay returned to the field bed and sat down. “Do we have any sugar?”

“I am afraid I used up all of our allotted supply.”

“Crud.”

“You dislike tea without sugar?”

“Nah, if you serve it, it's okay. You know, because you're so sweet.”

Darjeeling wanted to groan but kept it to herself. _Kay… your humor is terrible. But I love you regardless_. “Would that make me Oolong Tea then?”

“You have a really strong taste though,” Kay said without thinking about it twice. She noticed that Darjeeling stopped moving, stopped preparing tea. “Are you embarrassed?”

“I have never had someone… do that to me.” She was not embarrassed, strictly speaking. But she had never been so intimate with anyone else before. Not even close.

“Was my first time, too. Did I do good?”

“You have no delicacy whatsoever at all. No tact. No manners. What exactly is it that I love so much about you?”

“Hm, my looks? I'd say I'm pretty good looking. Or because I'm good at tankery?”

“Kay, you should learn what a rhetoric question is.”

“Hey! I'm not stupid, I know that's a question you're not supposed to answer. Like a trick question. But different.”

“The rain is not letting up, is it?”

“Well, at least we can talk like normal Japanese people while the rain is going on. There is no way they can get microphones in here.”

“This is an exception, Kay. I prefer to follow the rules; including the rule that we should speak whatever language the nation uses that our schools themes represent.”

“You ever think what those schools that are mixed nationality do?”

“I am not aware of any school that does not conform to a singular national theme.”

“What about that Koala school? They use US and British tanks.”

“Yet their official theme is based on Australia. While it has no official language designated as the national language, about eighty percent of the populace is designated as English.”

“How do you **know** that?”

“We were briefed on all schools of note, even the many smaller ones, such as Koala Forest High and Viking Fisheries High.”

“Then… Yogurt Academy!”

“Bulgarian.”

“Blue Division!”

“Spanish. Their primary force consists of light Spanish tanks from the Spanish civil war.”

“You're like a trivia machine.”

“That is quite rude.”

“No no, I didn't mean that in a bad way. I couldn't remember all that stuff. I had to take a bunch of extra classes to pass the language requirement for this war.”

“Does Saunders Girls High give you the weekends off?”

“Yeah.”

“Perhaps we can arrange to see each other on the weekends then.”

Kay leaned back on the field bed and put the documents down. “I definitely gotta pick up a part-time job under the week to pay for travel stuff.”

“So do I.”

“I don't have to find a place to stay or anything, right? I'm just staying in your room.”

“The school will definitely object to having the commander of a different school stay on its premises.”

“Ah, I figured. So no good after all?”

“I did not say that.”

“Oho? The honor student Darjeeling would break the rules?”

“Strictly speaking it is not a rule. They would raise their objection if I requested permission, so if I simply do not do that, they will not raise their objections and no rule to not allow you on the dorm's premises will be made.”

“You'll make a scary as heck negotiator one day.”

“What about Saunders?”

“Hm, I don't think they'll like you staying with me in the dorms but I really don't care about whether they like it or not. What they don't know about is not gonna worry 'em.”

“I am happy that you would even work to come and visit me.”

“You're kidding, right? I might be a **bit** stupid when it comes to school stuff, but I'd have to be the dumbest girl on earth to not put in some effort to come see you. And hey, I totally I get an excuse to sleep with you in the same bed.”

“You Americans really have no concept of shame or tact.”

“Heh, thanks.”

“That was not a compliment.”

“Coming from a British girl? It totally is.” Kay smirked wide.

“What is **that** supposed to mean?” Darjeeling walked over to Kay and grabbed her hand. “Explain yourself!”

“Eh, but I'm just a tactless, stupid American, you know?”

“Kay!”

“I didn't mean anything by it! Just teasing you. I always see that in the movies, you know? Americans making fun of the British.”

“You're horrible.”

“So when am I getting that kiss I was promised?”

“After tea.”

“Stingy. It's just one kiss!”

“Everything has its proper place and time.”

“We're in a military tent in the middle of the ocean fighting a war against just about every other high school with tanks out there.”

“E-Even so.” Darjeeling would not be deterred from following her way of life.

“Hey.”

“What is it?”

“Let's swap uniforms tomorrow.”

“For what purpose?”

“It's fun. And like, it shows we're committed to this alliance, you know.”

“A show of loyalty and commitment. Although I am sure you just want to do it because you think it is funny.”

“Hm, not really. I do think my girls are gonna think more highly of you if we do this. You know, you do have this high and mighty aura to you, at least for girls from other schools. So wearing the Saunders uniform will tell them you're not just looking at them like convenient and maybe expandable tools.”

“I most certainly do **not-** ”

“Stop, stop, I didn't say you do. Sorry, bad way to explain things. You **seem** like you might think that way because you're kind of hard to approach because of how ladylike you are.”

“You Americans are quick to jump to conclusions. Did you think that way about me, too?”

“Me? Hm, no, not really. I kinda thought you'd be super perverted beneath that proper lady act for some reason.”

“It is absolutely not an act!”

“I know, I know.” Kay grinned. “That was before I kidnapped you. You're stuck up Brit through and through.”

“Kay!”

“It's a joke, a joke.” Kay cold barely hold her laughter in. “[It's an American joke!]”

“You are beyond help, Kay.”

“I get bored easily.”

“Of me as well?”

“That's different.” Kay looked into the documents again. “You know, why is Pravda so hung up on Kuromorimine anyway? I mean, they're big threats to each other, sure, but more than two thirds of their combat logs are actually against them.”

“I have my suspicions that these are not all of their combat logs. They would be mad to hand them over in their entirety just like that.”

“You're right. These is a bunch of redacted stuff, too. They're all in on this being as close to a real war as possible, looks like. I'm just glad the documents are not in Russian.”

“The originals were most definitively in Russian. The print on these documents is degraded in places already, which makes it clear that these are copies.”

“I was surprised we were allowed to bring stuff like a typewriter.”

“Writing combat records is only a recommendation, not a set rule. However, we were strongly encouraged to do so.”

“Yeah, same here, I let Arisa handle that. I'm just terrible at reports.”

“I am not personally involved in our record keeping either.”

Flipping through some of the pages, Kay frowned. “You know what's missing from these logs? Munition reports and supplies. I bet they are running low because we keep taking the crates from under their noses.”

“Even the soldiers of Russia cannot fight on an empty stomach. It would be akin to leaving the British Commonwealth without tea; an unthinkable scenario.”

“Your analogies aside, do you think this was their main ulterior motive? We did agree to help them out with supplements if they were in danger of having to cease operations.”

“We agreed to that on paper, yes.”

“You're going to break the agreement because they duped us?”

“It was not us who was _duped_. Look at our agreement again.”

Kay lightly dreaded having to go through that the sixteen pages agreement. “Do you have any reading glasses?”

“Oh my, you need them?”

“Not **need**. Like… I get a headache if I read too much and the glasses help with that. I don't think it's really about seeing better, maybe it's all in my head. Glasses make me look smart, so reading is easier.”

“I really can't tell if you are joking.”

“I'm serious! Dead serious!”

Darjeeling was still patiently waiting by the small camping gas stove; waiting for the water to boil, to pour some tea. And it was finally time. “I'm afraid I don't have any glasses I could lend you.”

“You know, I noticed this a bit but you barely use contractions. And then sometimes you use a whole bunch of em at once.”

“I'm trying to be less formal around you. Even a lady doesn't talk to her lover like she's a stranger or just some business partner.”

“You're so darn cute sometimes.”

“Only sometimes?”

“The rest of the time you're sexy or dignified.”

“I can live with that. You really are honest.”

“People misunderstand me a lot because I just say what's on my mind.”

“I don't dislike it.”

Kay flipped through a few more pages. “It's mostly analysis of the German's warfare and their engagements with Pravda.”

“Both of us have fought them before, but never in circumstances like this.”

“Hm, yeah. Infantry options really change things. Having to protect a base, procure supplies and the ability to make alliances really makes it difficult to just go out there and kick ass.”

“With Pravda's forces, we vastly outnumber the Germans. There are only so many tanks we can field before we constrict our own movement, so I suggest we keep a number of tanks on defense to protect the base.”

“Sounds good to me.” Kay peered past Darjeeling, who was just now pouring the tea. “It doesn't really sit well with me, ganging up on the Germans like this.”

“War is not about fairness, Kay.”

“I know, I know. This is bigger than what I like. And hey, I can deal with the war being not the way I want it. I have you by my side.”

“Seven years in peace are seven days in war. Do you want a cup now?”

“Hm, maybe later.”

Testing the tea and finding it terribly inadequate, Darjeeling still drank it because what else was she supposed to do? Quality tea out on the battlefield was difficult to come by and to make matters worse, she couldn't just hoard all the best tea for herself. “What are their tactics like?”

“Pravda makes a lot of use of terrain, it looks like. They also use encirclements on smaller groups and then turn it into a firing ring after they dealt with the isolated force.”

“That leaves their rear exposed at first.”

“Yeah, Kuromori figured that out too from what I'm reading.”

“[Commander]!” A girl was shouting outside.

Exchanging quick looks, Darjeeling went to cover up and Kay just quickly put on Darjeeling's skirt, making the red-black Gloriana complete. Opening up the tent, a voice only drone and a horribly drenched messenger from Saunders stepped in. “[What's so important that you left your tent during this torrent?]” _I'm glad she called out in English. I would've totally asked her in Japanese otherwise._

“[We received a radio transmission from a scouting vehicle. The operator identified herself as Julie, from Pentagon Squad.]” The girl, her very short blonde hair sticking to her scalp like glue, glanced towards Darjeeling, who now approached, wearing Kay's uniform. _What are those two doing? Cosplay? Some kind of play?_ “[They took shelter from the rain within their tank and happened to intercept transmissions from Bellwall Academy. Luckily for us, they were in English.]”

“[Bellwall Academy?]” Kay knew she had heard of them, but couldn't place the name immediately.

“[They're a school that uses a mixed battalion of German and Russian tanks. According to our spies, they were trained as bilinguals, German and Russian, with greater emphasis on German.]” Darjeeling stepped up, next to Kay and the messenger saluted her. “[Do not worry about formalities right now. If you came to tell us about this now, it must have been a sensitive message.]”

“[A general order to cease all hostilities with Kuromorimine and Ooarai immediately and to be on increased guard against Pravda.]”

Kay and Darjeeling could tell immediately what that meant. “[Kuromorimine anticipated that Pravda would seek out other big players to deal with them more efficiently.]”

“[The scouting vessel is still in place and on standby in case we have orders for them.]”

“[Would you like a cup of tea?]” Darjeeling could see how cold the girl was. And she needed a moment to think about the situation. The girl nodded and thanked her immediately.

“[Ooarai is an obvious choice. But damn, having both Nishizumis against us is gonna be a pain.]”

“[Bellwall might not be one of the major players, but they have highly skilled crews and experienced leadership to compensate for their smaller number and lower quality of tanks.]”

“[Dealing with Kuromorimine was going to be a pain in our necks as-is, even with Pravda. But with Ooarai in there and then those Bellwall girls on top of that- No, wait, are we absolutely sure this is a real thing and they're not just paying off Bellwall to make it look like that? I wouldn't do that, but I learned to expect the things I'd never agree with.]”

“[I have my doubts about that. If they wanted to set a trap, sending a message to their own tanks like this is unreliable at best. We happened to have a scouting vessel nearby. I was not aware of that until now.]”

“[If it's not a trap, we're in deep shit.]”

“[Kay, language.]”

“[She's a soldier, she's used to it.]”

The girl received a cup of tea from Darjeeling and immediately burned her tongue on it. The audio drone still hovered almost silently behind her.

“[Kuromorimine. Ooarai. Bellwall.]” Darjeeling had her eyes closed and thought about what she knew of them.

“[The Axis. German and Japanese forces. It's The Axis.]”

“[I hope you are not contemplating that we attempt to imitate The Allies of World War Two. The threat of fascism and the then unparalleled aggression of the Germans forced the world together. It would be a diplomatic and coordination nightmare to re-create such a thing here.]”

“[Just saying what comes to mind. But now that you bring it up… you know, Chi-Ha-Tan owes us, but they are thematically the Japanese forces, just like Ooarai, so they might get an invitation to the party.]”

“[We will have to prevent that. They have a large number of tanks. Under the leadership of Ooarai and Kuromorimine, they could move from being a nuisance to being a difficult opponent.]”

“[It gets worse. You know, Anzio? They're Italian, right? Italy was part of the Axis, I remember that. And they know about our deal with Pravda.]”

“[Things suddenly took a drastic turn for the worse for us.]”

“[We gotta get a few of those that can fight on board, at least to make it look like joining up with Kuromorimine and Ooarai is gonna backfire hard. Scare tactics are effective.]”

“[Maginot Girls' Academy comes to mind. As well as Jatkosota.]”

“[Maginot? They eternal losers?]”

“[Their leadership can be supplemented by us and Pravda.]”

“[Do they even have the people to participate on the big scale? I remember hearing about something going on there, which is why they had barely anyone to take the field in their last match. They lost most of their crew or something.]”

“[I am surprised you know about that. They had a forced change in command and that cost them around fifty of their eighty members. That was a while before the 63rd national tournament, however.]”

“[Did they get back on their feet?]”

“[So I am told. In any case, they have the numbers and at the very least they will make a capable defense. Their discipline is among the highest of all schools, I was told.]”

“[Huh, I guess we'll approach them. What about Jatkosota? Which school is that?]”

“[They were with us during Ooarai's match against Selection University. Those people with the unbelievable modifications to their tank.]”

“[Oh. **Them**. Again, do they have the numbers?]”

“[Most certainly not. But in their case, quality makes up for a lack of quantity.]”

“[Uhm…]” The messenger girl was still there.

“[Finish your tea. We will have new orders for you by then.]” Darjeeling did not want to rush into things.

“[If we bring Maginot and Jakosota on board, what are we going to tell Pravda?]”

“[They will be technically allied with us separately from the Pravda-Saunders-Gloriana alliance.]”

“[You should probably handle the negotiating. I don't think kidnapping the leaders from Jatkosota and Maginot is going to work well.]”

“[I have a… strained relationship with Maginot.]”

“[Because you're British and they're French? Wait… Maginot are the French, right?]”

“[They are. And perhaps it is in part due to that.]” _But most likely it is because Gloriana repeatedly crushed them in the past._

“[This is blowing up to be a really big fight. Kuromori, Ooarai, Bellwall, possibly Chi-Ha-Tan and Anzio as well, versus Pravda, Jatkosota, Maginot and us.]”

“[In terms of sheer numbers, we should still have an advantage as long as Chi-Ha-Tan is prevented from joining them.]”

“[If they know what's good for them, they'll agree to stay out of this.]”

“[My, how frightful.]”

“[We **can** destroy them easily. They have gotten better, but they are not an opponent that can match us. And I'm sure they'll figure that out, too.]”

“[My greatest worry, greater than Chi-Ha-Tan, concerns Anzio.]”

“[You know, speaking of which, why did we even need them? All of these documents are in Japanese. We could have just communicated through writing.]”

“[Direct communication between possibly hostile forces by abusing the record keeping system is not allowed.]” Darjeeling had other things on her mind now. “[We used Anzio and now that I think about this more deeply… Kuromorimine's reaction, this creation of the Axis powers, is almost certainly because Anzio informed them of our alliance with Pravda.]”

“[So we won't have to go easy on them.]”

“[Perhaps. We should avoid rash decisions for now.]” Darjeeling turned towards the messenger. “[For the time being, have the scouting team attempt to validate Bellwall's participation in the Axis. Additionally, if Anzio's forces are encountered by our forces-]”

“[Capture them. Don't damage their tanks too much and don't let them get away. Turning a traitor into a double agent is a staple of war movies!]”

_Good thinking, Kay. An excellent choice. I would have called for their unconditional surrender, but the wisdom of movies is great indeed._ “[I agree with her.]”

“[We'll take care of Maginot, Jatkosota and Chi-Ha-Tan later. You're okay with that, Darling?]”

“[Maginot and Jatkosota, yes. Chi-Ha-Tan we will contact immediately and request that their commander come see us. Send them a stern request.]”

“[It's fine to make clear that if they don't honor their debts, we're going to be pissed.]”

“[Understood.]” The girl waited a moment. “[Is that all?]”

“[In this rain there is not a lot we can do.]” _I would like to post some guards on our outer ring, but this rain… I do not want to lose people because they got sick after I sent them out there. It is highly unlikely that Kuromorimine, or anyone else, would attempt to raid us in these conditions. Visibility out there must be near zero, and weapons will not work right. Not to mention the physical toll a raiding party would have to suffer._ “[Kay, anything you want to add?]”

“[Can we get word to Pravda about this? Don't make it a message for their commander, though. Have them pass it on to Nonna or Clara, I think they're second in command over there.]”

“[I am glad you are here with me.]” Darjeeling smiled briefly and then resumed looking stern. “[You have your orders. Be careful in the rain, the ground must be a bog by now.]”

“[Thank you.]” Leaving the tent and immediately soaked to the bone again, the messenger left both commanders worried. The drone followed right after her.

“Things got dicey all of a sudden.” Kay looked straight at her girlfriend. “Anzio really pulled one over us.”

“Those blasted Italians.” Darjeeling cursed and it was such a rare thing that Kay looked at her in great surprise. “Sorry. I am usually calm, but… this irritates me. This war is not just a test of my skills as a commander of a tank battalion but also a test of my capabilities as the supreme chief of the British forces.”

“Don't beat yourself up over this. First of all, we haven't lost anything yet. Heck, this might be a chance to wipe out the Germans and all their sympathizers, all in one go.”

Darjeeling relaxed a little and walked over to the tea pot to get a refill. It was bad tea but it was still **tea**. She couldn't do without. “Ever the optimist.”

“We got a lot of experienced and disciplined girls. Pravda is also pretty terrifying to go up against. If we get Chi-Ha-Tan to stay out of this, we can take them. If Jatkosota, jeez that's hard to remember, and Maginot join up with us, it'll be an easier win. Now that I think about it like that, maybe we should have those two be our defense.”

“You simply want to hog all the glory for yourself, Kay.”

“Hahaha, busted.” Kay rubbed the back of her head and smiled. “You don't?”

“A fine idea. But we should wait and see for the time being.”

“I hope it stops raining before we all sink into the ground.”

Darjeeling smiled at the exaggeration for a moment and then her expression turned to horror. Kneeling next to the tent entrance, she opened just the bottom part by a bit, peeking outside. “Kay… you might be more right than you think.”

“Are we seriously sinking?” Kay stood over Darjeeling, the British girl between her legs, and looked outside. “Jeez, you scared the heck out of me. Looks fine to… oh.” Kay realized what Darjeeling was so worried about. “[Oh shit.]”

“This is going to affect everyone, not just us. Perhaps we are lucky still, because a forest will be less affected than open plains, sandy or snowy territories.”

“I am not looking forward to tomorrow.”

“I suspect we will not be able to field most of our tanks. Certainly none of our heavy ones.”

“Ah.” Kay hit her face with her palm. “Our T28 is gonna be useless.”

“It most assuredly will.”

“Everyone is going to be sitting ducks.”

“We have a distinct advantage.”

“We have all the of the prettiest girls in this war?”

“We have more people than anyone else in this war. Gloriana, in terms of human numbers, couldn't compete with Pravda or Kuromorimine, but Saunders alone leads the pack. Together we can mount an iron defense on top of leading raiding parties.”

“A raiding party out there in **that**? That's gonna be a tough sell, Darling.”

“Do Saunders girls really fret over a bit of mud?”

“A bit, nope. Not even a lot. But that looks like we'll be ankle deep in the ground the moment we leave the trees. Look at the supply crate, it's sinking.”

“It's our chance to throw a wrench into the German's Kriegsmachine.”

“Their what?”

“That is what Nazi Germany called their war efforts. It translates to War Machine.”

“You love trivia facts, don't you?”

“I admit I enjoy learning new things.”

Backing away from the entrance and zipping up, so no water came in, Kay dreaded that she would have to go out there eventually, possibly in the rain, because the inside of her tent had no toilet. “So are we going over these documents for the rest of today?”

“Perhaps we can… go to sleep early.” A lightly mischievous smile was on Darjeeling's face.

“Wow, you're insatiable.”

“Or perhaps we can work the entire night.” The smile was now fully and entirely cynical.

“It's a good thing, a good thing! Like, being around you all day is tempting as heck.”

“Pick up the documents, Kay.”

“Darling...” Kay was beaten, with a heavy sigh moving over her lips. “Sure.”

=== Tea and Cola ===

The rain was unending. Broadcasts were not suspended but most of the footage moved to analytical interviews by adults; people that were known as tankery experts, such as Shiho Nishizumi, Miho's and Maho's mother.

“Then, would you say that this development regarding inter-school alliances was unavoidable?”

“No. It is not unexpected to see things go this way, but without St. Gloriana Girls and Saunders Girls forming an alliance things would not have escalated into this arms race. Which by itself was unexpected as there was no previously no deeper connection between schools that even faculty staff of each school was aware of. Kuromorimine Girls' decision to forgo pride and aim for victory regardless of what means they would have to choose speaks to their experience.”

“Many people have likened the current alliances to those of World War 2, with St. Gloriana Girls and Saunders Girls forming the core of the Allied Forces that fought against the German forces. Is it coincidence that Kuromorimine Girls' and Ooarai Girls' have allied against them, considering that both have your daughters in the position of supreme command?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, it could be a previously coordinated measure against a threat that neither of them-”

“That is impossible. The Nishuzumi styles does not support reliance on allies the way lesser forms of tankery do.”

A man behind the camera was waving his hand horizontally across his throat. “Moving on. Kuromorimine Girls' has primarily been fighting Pravda Girls' during this competition. Do you believe that this targeted conflict is motivated by their thematic background? One bears the theme of Germany, the other Russian. As most of our viewers will know, Germany fought an uphill battle against Russia in World War Two and finally had to abandon the fight. Perhaps it is due to this pride in Russia that Pravda Girls' is aiming specifically for Kuromorimine Girls'.”

“While I personally disagree with the board's decision to enforce the thematic rules for this competition, it has shown great motivational effect on the participants. There is no doubt that every commander and thereby their army is using this effect to strive for victory. Kuromorimine Girls' specifically has taken well to the highly disciplined and well functioning totalitarian style that made the German forces very powerful.”

The man waved his hand even harder and Shiho glared at him for just a single instant; he was not impressed. The interviewer meanwhile had started to sweat quite a bit. “Alliances are commonplace in actual wars, even today. The NATO is quite possibly the most well known alliance to act as a deterrent against war. Now, based on what has been shown and transmitted through video and audio, what do you think will happen to this situation regarding the state of alliances? Will they expand, break apart under the strain of their size or something else entirely?”

“Kuromorimine will do whatever it takes to win. I am perfectly sure that Ooarai is fully aware of this. Faced with the overwhelming might of two Nishizumi style users, it will be a harsh battle for what you previously referred to as The Allies.”

The interviewer glanced at the camera and a big sign was held up. “We have just received word that Kuromorimine Girls' has officially invited Bellwall Academy into their alliance and that The Allies are reacting to this. The relevant information is currently being broadcasted on channel four. Miss Nishizumi, thank you for your time.”

Shiho just nodded and the camera went out. Taking off the tiny microphone, she looked mildly annoyed. Waiting for her outside the studio, located under deck of the gargantuan super carrier, was Chiyo Shimada, or was Shiho sometimes referred to her; Chiyokichi. Not so today, though. “Chiyo.”

“You were rather biased out there.”

“Nothing I said is not the truth.”

“Yes, but this is entertainment. You know how long it took us to lay the tracks for this to happen. The federation wants this to be a success and it does not help if the Chairperson of the Pro League Committee shows clear favoritism towards the schools her daughters attend.”

“Are you saying it was unprofessional of me?”

“A little.”

“So you would not have endorsed Kuromorimine despite Alice attending there?”

“I would.”

Shiho's right eye twitched in suppressed anger. “So why are you bothering me?”

“You would reprimand me too, for being unprofessional.”

“Possibly.”

“I know you would, Shiporin!”

“Don't call me that when other people might hear you!”

“Do you want to get a drink?”

“With this incessant rain, there is nothing else we can do.”

Walking together, Shiho was a little in front of Chiyo, towards the, technically, subterranean entertainment district; the adult one. Lots and lots of tourists were all around them and they went from the cold and refined tankery celebrities to just normal people, at least on the outside.

“You think our girls are going to win?”

“They will achieve victory. They have all the tools they need.”

“There are no more staff members around anymore. You can relax. Like when we went to Kumamoto for the parent-teacher conference.”

Shiho's steps stuttered and she glared at Chiyo. “You **promised** to never bring that up again. Nothing happened.”

“I would not call that _nothing_.”

Shiho opened the door to a traditional Japanese bar the same way one would slam a door; with way too much force. _Do not think about it, do not think about it, do not think-_ Shiho took a deep breath and sat at a table in the back, picking up the menu in the process.

Chiyo sat right across her. “I am glad that Alice managed to fit in at her new school. It's a strange feeling, seeing her out of my reach like that...”

“I am not happy with how Kuromorimine has regressed and lost the sharp edge they had before.”

“Oh, come on Shiporin. They still mostly follow the Nishizumi style. It's just Alice's squad that has special permission.”

“Unity is strength. They shouldn't-” Shiho froze because she felt Chiyo's high heels against her right leg. “What are you doing?”

“We haven't really seen each other since that parent-teacher conference.”

“I think you have the wrong idea about what happened there.”

“So you admit that something happened there.”

Shiho realized that she had outmaneuvered herself; just like in tankery, she had stubbornly advanced and now Chiyo had gotten behind her.

“Just because you are divorced does not mean-”

“When is the last time you have seen your husband? Any time this year?”

Shiho didn't reply. “I'm ready to order!” Raising her voice like a normal patron at a normal bar, Shiho felt bothered by the suit she wore and she loosened it up around her throat.

“Have you made up with Miho yet?”

Shiho still didn't respond and waited patiently for the waitress instead.

“I don't wait to ask Alice to ask Maho about it.”

“I have. Sort of.”

“So you're not planning on disowning her anymore?”

“How do you even-”

“We might not talk much, we're both busy after all, but Maho and Alice do talk. And I do talk to Alice regularly.”

“No, I'm not going to disown her. She has proven to me that even if she does not use the Nishizumi style, there is value in how she fights. She is a Nishizumi at heart, even if she does not follow our doctrine.”

“Aren't you glad that both your daughters are fighting together now?”

“Not particularly.”

“Why not?”

“Maho certainly has the skill and the drive to win on her own. Miho most likely lacks the numbers to win without making heavy use of subversion tactics and slowly whittling down the enemy like a coward. Regardless, I think they could have won on their own.”

“They'll face each other in the next nationals.”

“They most certainly will.”

“And Maho will have Alice to help her win.”

“Maho can-”

“Win on her own. So could Alice. You preach about emotions being in the way but you sure have a lot of pride.”

Shiho couldn't argue with that. “One draft. What's in the special of the day?”

“Today is Pravda's turn. It's a mild type of Borscht. Borscht is-” The waitress had studied up on it.

“I'll take that.”

“I'll take the same as her.” Chiyo was in a much more relaxed and good mood than her companion. “You're still so stiff.”

“Maybe I could actually relax if you stopped rubbing your feet on my leg.”

“If you really disliked it you could stop me.” Chiyo smirked for but a second before Shiho pinched her leg under the table. “Ow, ow, Shiporin, stop!”

“I still do not understand why your daughter enrolled in Kuromorimine.”

“She said she considered a few other options. She visited Saunders but she didn't like their lack of discipline and she started to pout when I asked about their commander. Gloriana went the exact opposite direction; she really liked the commander but they were really opposed to the Shimada style, even if it promised greater results than they had before.”

“She should have gone to Chi-Ha-Tan. They have both the numbers and the lack of leadership that would have allowed her to take control there.”

“She wanted to go to Kuromorimine because of Maho.”

“I know. Maho said as much.” Their draft beer came. Despite her looks and cold personality, Shiho could drink like an old sailor. The glass was half empty after she put it to her lips just once.

“Do you talk to Miho at all?”

“I saw her when I went to Ooarai for their parent-teacher conference. I also went there as a special guest when Mei Lin Lu gave a presentation about the prospects of professional tankery.”

“Mei, from the promotional department?”

“Yes.”

“She's still stuck with that job?”

“She seems to like it.”

“By the way, I got word from the federation earlier. The broadcast rates are exceeding expectations by a lot. The American government has apparently reached out and asked us if we can spare someone to consult should they plan to create their own league. They're apparently still discussing whether they want to make it an adult-only sport.”

“I don't know how I let everyone else convince me that bringing tankery to the world level was a good idea.”

“You know that traditions are harder and harder to keep going because everything is connected nowadays. And this is doing a lot for Japan's public image on the international level. Making tankery more popular and well accepted all over the world will ensure that it will be stronger than ever in the future.”

“Well… it's true that our professional tankery athletes don't have pay comparing to professionals in other sports.”

“See? This is gonna help a lot. And between us… I heard whispers that if this should become an international discipline, maybe even one at the Olympics, that you and I are being considered for a coaching position for the national team. There is no bigger stage than the world.”

“You are really excited about this.”

“I won't deny it.” Chiyo didn't count draft beer among her favorites, but she liked it well enough. Still, she was barely a third in when Shiho put down her glass and ordered a refill. “What do you think Maho and Alice are going to do? Inviting Bellwall is a bold move.”

“They will win.”

“Most likely, but what are they going to **do**?”

“What makes you think I know? Neither of us has ever participated in a match like this.”

“Could you imagine? Both of us on the national team, commanding tanks again, out on the battlefield.”

Shiho averted her eyes. “Don't tempt me.”

“Thinking about it makes me feel young again.”

“You're still pretty enough to pass as a college graduate.”

Chiyo blushed a little, on purpose. “You would fit in better as an assistant teacher. Although you would need to work on that ice cold stare of yours.”

Their food was delivered and Shiho was thankful for the distraction. “I am worried about this rain. A regular match would have been canceled a while ago and postponed until the ground was more stable again.”

“Weather conditions are part of what makes this competition so much more interesting to foreigners than traditional tankery.”

“So everyone keeps telling me. Eat your borscht. And you are paying your own bill.”

=== Tea and Cola ===

The rain still hammered down, seemingly unending, a punishment by the gods to give the other schools a fighting chance. The camp of the Allies had made a seamless transition into the night. But in opposite to expectations, especially those of staff and audience, the two schools were highly active now. Guards were posted beneath provisional rain cover; wooden roofs crudely cut from the cargo crates and mounted on ammunition boxes. The raincoats that the schools had available were distributed to the most physically able. Shovels were put to good use and spare tents were used as carrying cloths to carry away piles of mud weighting dozens of kilos.

“[Keep going! Even if the rain stops soon, the entire battlefield is going to be like this! The cost of doing nothing will be ours to pay if we slack off! If you start feeling too cold, pass your shovel and raincoat on to someone else and warm up in the provisional shelter!]” Kay's voice penetrated even the rain, her shouting reaching most of the base and still repeated by some of her subordinates to everyone knew their orders.

Kay was covered in mud nearly head to toe. Darjeeling fared significantly better, serving as the brains of their operations inside the shelter; the re-purposed remains of the cargo crates they had obtained so far. Cargo and ammunition boxes created pillars in the center of the base and the walls of the crates served as the roof.

Mud piled up just beyond the outer ring of tanks. The main purpose was to stabilize the base and prevent tents and cargo sinking into the mud because large quantities of property damage would follow. Digging out the tanks was secondary on their agenda, at least for now.

“[Commander-]”

“[Use the excess wood that remains to place pathways over cleared areas so people have safe passage.]” Darjeeling was very good at anticipating requests and questions. 

Another girl approached and she recognized her as the Saunder's girl in charge of handing out warmed gloves, socks and boots. The idea had originated with Kay. The worst part about staying wet was how cold fingers and feet got, and this gave their girls a way around that. It was absolute chaos at the exchange station, with at least three dozen gloves, socks and boots drying at all times. “[What is it?]” This one was beyond her expertise.

“[We're understaffed.]”

“[Grab a full team. Have them help out for thirty minutes. Have them return to work after and grab another team if you still need the additional staff.]” Six people created one team. One person who shoveled, two teams of two people each that use the spare tents to carry the mud and one person in reserve that switched with the person that shoveled every five minutes to avoid exhaustion.

Kay showed up at the command center after making another round. “[Goddammit, it's cold. And I can't smell anything but forest!]” Kay was in a terrible mood. “[I'm so sick of rain.]”

“[What does the situation look like?]”

“[I guess we're about two-thirds done? I can't really tell exactly, you can't see five meters ahead.]”

“[You are doing good work, Kay. I am thankful I can be in here instead of out there.]”

“[A lady isn't supposed to be standing in the mud all the way up to her ankles.]” A big grin returned to Kay's face. “[But the girls are complaining about the dirt. What are we gonna do about clean up?]”

“[There is no way we can prepare hot baths under these conditions.]”

“[So what do we do?]”

“[It is dark. Since we lack the means to provide something better, everyone, including you, will have to get clean in the rain and then dry themselves off. By then it will be high time for everyone to heed to bed.]”

“[I'm not really happy with that.]”

“[Heating water without having taken the tanks out for an operation will consume an enormous amount of fuel. Even with the reserved we stockpiled we cannot afford that for convenience. I understand this is not very convincing, coming from someone that is avoiding working in the mud herself, but-]”

“[That was my call to make. I'm not really hot on having the rain be my shower but it's got enough pressure at least.]” Kay looked at Darjeeling with enough anticipation to make it obvious what she wanted her to say.

But Darjeeling was unimpressed. “[That was a terrible pun, Kay.]”

“[Aw, come on, I tried really hard.]”

“[Commander...s.]” A girl with an automatic rifle hung over her shoulder approached the two. “[Our guest has arrived.]”

“[I guess I won't have time to get cleaned up first. Where is she?]”

“[Here.]” A terribly wet, soaked to the bone in fact, Kinuyo Nishi, accompanied by two armed guards, stepped into the shelter. “[I came as quickly as I could.]”

“[We did not expect you to come in this torrential rain. We apologize for that.]” Darjeeling had previously agreed with Kay that she would do most of the talking. “[Our tent is over there. I can offer at least a cup of tea.]”

“[That will be much appreciated!]” Kinuyo had grown a lot mentally since her participation in the match against Selection University. But to her, Gloriana and Saunders, the Allies, were like a great force, an insurmountable wall. They deserved her respect.

“[Darling will be handling this. Whatever she says has my blessing.]” Kay didn't want to make a mess of the tent with having dirt all over her. That had not been the plan, but she made that decision now.

“[Are you sure?]” Darjeeling didn't want to put Kay in front of a done deal after all of this.

“[If I didn't trust you with this, how could I date you?]” Kay grinned wide, again, when she saw Nishi look confused. “Gotta get back to work!]”

“[I wasn't aware that you and miss Kay had that sort of relationship.]” Under the cover of a large umbrella, Darjeeling headed across several wooden planks towards her tent. The inside was warm and comfy compared to the outside.

“[There is not much space to sit so please, if you would like, you can-]”

“[I am fine.]” She didn't want to be a bother to Darjeeling. “[The message we received sounded quite urgent.]”

“[I will make things very clear first. Kuromorimine, Ooarai and Bellwall have entered into an alliance much like St. Gloriana and Saunders has. The accuracy of this information is very high and I am willing to say that it is safe to trust it completely.]”

_Am I supposed to say something yet? Is she asking me to join their alliance? Should I ask? But maybe that would be presumptuous of me. We're still figuring out how to make proper use of the tactics that lady Nishizumi taught us during their match_. “[So-]”

“[Because Chi-Ha-Tan, like Ooarai, is matched to the Japanese nationality, we would like you to avoid joining forces with them. Let me be perfectly clear; I need you to sign an official Non-Aggression Treaty that bars you from joining the military alliance that exists between Kuromorimine, Ooarai and Bellwall in any form or shape.]”

“[You do not want us to fight on your side?]”

“[I am sure that Kay would consider the offer, but Chi-Ha-Tan has a considerable number of tanks. Escalating the conflict by absorbing such a large force into these Allied Forces might result in every school still participating in the competition to pick a side, resulting in a single massive war between alliances instead of the intended battle royal.]”

“[I see. That might be very difficult to handle.]”

“[We will be asking Maginot Girls' Academy and Jatkosota to sign a temporary defense pact that will have them act as our defensive force to protect this base. But unless attacked, they will not be participating in this conflict in any capacity.]”

“[Couldn't we do that?! We still owe you a debt!]”

“[Kay did suggest this as well, so I am asking you; can Chi-Ha-Tan fulfill a purely defensive role? Will you be able to hold position, even if the enemy lures, provokes and tempts you to charge at them?]”

Kinuyo's expression went sour. “[I want to say we can… but so far you have been nothing but extremely honest with me, so I have to admit that we are still struggling with the concept of defensive maneuvers.]”

_I'm impressed she is responding this well. I heard rumors that she was extremely formal and adhering to reporting protocols that are reminiscent of the Imperial Japanese Army. It seems that this, too, is an effect that Nishizumi Miho had on her._ “[It will be reassuring to know that Chi-Ha-Tan will at most be our enemies after this conflict with Kuromorimine has resolved. Perhaps luck will be on your side and you will find yourself triumphant without having to engage either of us.]”

“[I would not accept such a result. To win without properly giving it our all; without charging at the enemy with all of our might would be the height of disgrace and shame our name.]”

_There it is. I knew those rumors could not be entirely unfounded_. “[If your desire for fighting and glory is so great, perhaps there is something that Chi-Ha-Tan can do for us. I believe you to be honorable, so I will require but your word that you will not officially participate in this conflict. Now, if Kuromorimine or Bellwall find themselves retreating and Chi-Ha-Tan happens to be patrolling nearby, nobody could fault you for simply adhering to the rules and engage.]”

“[Oh, an ambush! How very deceptive!]”

“[That makes it sound sinister.]”

“[Not at all. It is a great strategy.]”

“[I have to admit that I am surprised that you speak English this fluently. Chi-Ha-Tan is a Japanese themed school, so I did not think you would have language classes.]”

“[Ah, that's just something personal. I enjoy learning new languages. I also speak a bit of German, Russian and Italian so if the time came I could speak with people from other schools.]”

“[This conflict will most likely start in earnest in a few days due to the extremely adverse conditions of the terrain right now. I expect that both Ooarai and Bellwall will be attacking us at the same time as Kuromorimine. We have accepted a temporary alliance with Pravda with the purpose of destroying Kuromorimine. I am telling you this in confidence as I deem you someone trustworthy, even though we have no formal alliance or treaty.]”

“[I am most humbled by your trust!]”

_This was the right decision. Appealing to her sense of honor and desire for glory was a good decision._ “[However, I ask you that you do not divulge this information. Not even to your second in command. Your authority should allow you to tell them that you cannot betray the trust of your source.]”

“[No, of course. I understand.]”

“[To avoid misunderstandings, Kinuyo Nishi, I do see you as my equal. Just as Kay, Maho and Miho Nishizumi are my equals. We are all the supreme commanders of our respective armies. I am not ordering you, I am asking you as someone that holds honor close to their heart.]”

“[Equals...]” Kinuyo looked delighted. “[There is nothing you have to worry about. Chi-Ha-Tan Academy will not commit any dishonorable acts by interfering into someone else's fight.]”

“[That is very reassuring.]”

“[I… do have a personal question.]”

“[I am afraid I cannot divulge specifics about our temporary alliance with Pravda.]”

“[M- **More** personal than that.]”

“[About Kay and myself?]”

“[Is it… wrong of me to be asking?]”

“[It is no secret that we are together. Kay is a wonderful girl. We met in this war under… special circumstances and still, I am delighted we did.]”

“[If you don't mind me asking… was lady Kay the one who asked you out?]”

“[A simple question that has no simple answer, I am afraid. Kay did initiate the events that led to this relationship.]” _If she is this curious about us…_ “[Are you perhaps of the same inclination as we are?]”

“[O-Of course not!]”

“[A honorable commander such as yourself should not be caught lying in such an obvious matter.]”

“[I even practiced… How disgraceful.]”

_I wonder if she has someone she likes. But it would be wrong of me to pry_. “[How is Chi-Ha-Tan managing this torrential storm?]”

“[Our base is located on top of a small hill with a solid stone foundation.]”

_There have to be dozens of places that description fits, just within an hour or two by car. She is more intelligent than she seems._ “[Heavier tanks will be crippled due to this rain. But-]” Darjeeling's expression hardened. “[Tell your troops to be ready. I hope for your sake that you practiced infantry drills.]”

“[We have.]” Kinuyo waited for a moment before she asked Darjeeling. “[Is there anything else?]”

“[I have taken up enough of your time. Before you return, can I offer you a cup of tea?]”

“[Yes, thank you.]”

Outside the tent, feverish working was still happening and Kay had landed face first in the mud at one point. Thankfully, just looking up straight got rid of most of the mud. Marching around the base, Kay made sure that everything was going as planned. _Forget our heavy tanks, we can forget using any tanks, at least for tomorrow. If it's sunny we might get the light tanks running fine the day after tomorrow._

_Using our infantry might be possible. But… most of the area will be almost a marsh. It'll be exhausting as heck. And even if the tanks of other teams are immobilized as heavily as our own, we can only go so far in this terrain. Perhaps we should… did I just think **perhaps**? Darling is totally rubbing off on me. Maybe we should focus on fortifying this place and turning it into a real base. The location is pretty good. A forest provides cover and even with this much rain, the trees mitigated this disaster quite a bit. Sure, we got a lot of mud that we had to get rid off, but it's gonna be five or ten times worse out there. _

_We obviously can't make a fort or anything, but a ring of tanks, some fortifications between the tanks… we would have to park the tanks we deploy outside the ring that creates our defense, though. It would be really hard to take our base. With the tanks acting as a barrier we could even cannibalize them for part since they're just a wall. If we move the tanks we can't use anymore or we have no parts for… yeah, that could work. It's probably a bad idea to set up a permanent base, but this war is dragging out way more than I thought it would. We need to setup something like a bath. How, though? We can't exactly dig a hole and fill it with water. I mean, how are we gonna heat that? But using the barrels is super inefficient._ Kay put the brakes to her thoughts and chuckled by herself. _Inefficient huh. I'm starting to think like a real commander now, I guess._ Passing by her own tent, Kay poked her nose in and found Darjeeling and Kinuyo to be drinking tea together. “[You two got close fast.]”

“[Lady Darjeeling offered me a cup of tea and I thought it would be rude to turn it down.]” Nishi stood up and then sat back down when Kay just waved to her.

“[So what's the status?]” Kay thought about going in for a second instead of just sticking her head in, but she was covered in mud and she'd create a river inside because her feet were swimming in her boots.

“[We will not have a formal agreement with Chi-Ha-Tan. I will brief you on the remainder later.]” Darjeeling had a smile on her lips as she told her partner and that was good enough for Kay; she knew that such an expression meant things were going well.

“[Darling, lemme have a bit of your tea. I can't come in without ruining the tent.]”

Kinuyo, her cup remained right by her lips, watched in slight amazement at what unfolded; Darjeeling got up and walked over to the entrance and let Kay drink from her own cup. “[How are things outside?]”

“[Wet as heck. But we dug out all the mud. It's just tree roots and really hard earth beneath now. It's one big puddle now, so we gotta walk like pirates.]”

“[P-Pirates?]” Kinuyo didn't follow.

Darjeeling scolded Kay with a short look before she explained. “[In English there is the expression _Walking the Plank_ , which is what Pirates used to throw people overboard. Kay has taken that expression and misused it. We have connected the tents and created pathways by using wooden planks to tread on.]”

“[It's no fun if you explain my joke!]”

“[If you say _It's an American Joke_ next, I am going to be disappointed in you.]”

“[The both of you are very close.]”

“[I'll leave you to it. There's some stuff I wanna talk about later, Darling.]” Holding on to the entrance of the tent, making the entire thing shake dangerously, Kay leaned in and kissed Darjeeling on the cheek before she withdrew and stomped back through the puddles outside.

“[It is very cute.]”

“[Kay can be a bit childish.]”

“[I meant the… what do you call it when you give friends or partners a special name?]”

“[A nickname? A pet name?]”

“[Yes. Darjeeling and Darling is quite clever, I find.]”

“[I think it is silly, but it is harmless enough.]”

“[Now, I really should be going. At this rate the girls under my command might worry that I was taken captive.]”

“[A pity that I did not know of your linguistic prowess before now. Instead of using Anzio to broker a deal with Pravda I could have asked you.]”

“[The next time then!]” Kinuyo saluted and was surprised when Darjeeling held out her hand for a handshake. “[I'm honored.]”

“[The honor was ours, general commander Nishi Kinuyo.]” Darjeeling saw the girl out of the tent, following her past the outer ring of the base, personally seeing her off. There were two armed guards from Chi-Ha-Tan waiting at a rover, the just about only vehicles capable of traversing the terrible conditions the battlefield was in.

Those two guards were kept company by two girls, one from Saunders and Gloriana respectively to ease tensions. Seeing the commander depart, Darjeeling was hopeful that she had pulled the strings just right to set fire to Kuromorimine's back when the time came.

Two hours short of midnight, work was canceled across the base, with the rain still pouring in. Everything important was standing on wooden planks or empty crates now. The ground beyond the planks was singular big puddle, nearly ten centimeters deep. The outside of the base, just beyond the outer ring of tanks, was littered with piles of mud; some so big that once they dried they would provide adequate cover against enemy fire and even shielding for the tanks against artillery fire.

The demand for clean towels had exceeded demand and most of those unlucky enough to not get one had simply taken to getting clean in the rain before taking cover in their field beds and sleeping bags, either mostly or completely naked. Shame could not win against the disgust many of them felt when they thought about going to bed covered in mud and grime. Rosehip and Assam had never returned.

“[They look miserable.]” Rosehip looked through night vision binoculars and spotted only two guards out in the rain. Bellwall Academy had set up base against the bottom of a fifteen meter high cliff, forming a half circle of tanks as their perimeter. “[Can't blame them, I'm miserable too.]” Rosehip handed the binoculars to Assam, who was right behind her, both of them hiding between trees about a kilometer away from the Bellwall base. “[What are the Saunders' doing?]”

Assam looked west. They were at the eastern edge of the forest that bordered against the short stretch of flat land between the forest and the Bellwall base. “[Talking to each other.]” Assam directed her gaze at the base. _They picked a good location. Anyone foolish enough to attempt and climb down the cliff would be suicidal. Especially at night or during this rain. And they are sitting on top of a light slope, so the water creates a natural adverse terrain for attackers on foot._ “[It is going to be difficult to make it to the base unseen.]”

“[Put down the binos and look ahead. What do you see?]”

Assam did as her girlfriend asked her to. “[Nothing. I can barely see five meters- oh. Of course.]”

“[By the time they notice us, we'll be right on top of them.]”

“[This is still a really dangerous plan, Rose.]” Giving her girlfriend a nickname was something Assam had been looking forward to ever since she heard Kay call Darjeeling _Darling_.

“[What kind of pronunciation is that anyway? Ro-Se?]”

“[German. I think it suits your headstrong and passionate nature more than the English Rose.]”

Rosehip didn't know how to reply to that. “[The ground looked pretty solid despite all the rain. But if we run right up at them, they're going to spot us, rain or not.]”

“[Do not tell me you want to-]” Assam was ready to sigh.

“[Saunders trained for this! I'm not gonna let them best me just because I go to Gloriana and we were not too keen on training in the dirt!]”

_She might make a good actual soldier in the JSDF one day. I don't want her to take a dangerous job like that, though_. “[It certainly provides an extra incentive to steal their uniforms.]”

“[Are you sure you are going to be okay with attacking them?]” Rosehip felt a terrible chill when she turned around and looked at Assam's face. Horror seeped into her bones within an instant. Strands of Assam's blond hair hung wet and exiled down in front of her face. Her eyes were as cold as the rain that hit them and there was a merciless iciness to them that made Rosehip feel that chill. _Yeah. She is definitely gonna be okay attacking them. But they might not be._

The rules governing purely interpersonal combat had been changed the day before, in part due to Saunder's raid on Gloriana. They allowed for more freedom now and for roughly the same level of violence the participants were subjected to during regular tankery contests. Being thrown around inside a tank when it was flung over and the likes were considered acceptable applications of force.

“[What is it?]” Assam looked down at Rosehip and swiped the wet strands of hair from her own face.

“[You scared the heck out of me just now.]”

“[I have?]”

“[I would feel sorry for those guards if they weren't on the Nazi's side.]”

“[Rose, you should not call them that.]”

“[It fires me up.]”

“[And if this was broadcast merely in Japan, I would have no objections, but foreign powers, especially Germany and America, are very sensitive to that.]”

“[Let's go.]” Rosehip crouched down and slowly advanced until she was out of the forest. Going down on her stomach, she started crawling forward. Because Gloriana had only done the bare minimum of that sort of training, the two girls from Saunders had shown her how to crawl properly.

Assam was right behind her, not next to her, to minimize discrepancies in the terrain. The stench of the mud was all Rosehip could smell and her clothes were full of mud in an instant. She felt slippery and gross all over. Before long they were halfway up the slope. The constant flow of water against them made progressing any further a real struggle. They slid backwards several times. Their hands and feet were terribly cold.

“[Ich bin immernoch der meinung das es eine verdammt blöde idee war sich mit Kuromorimine zu alliieren. Ich mein, jetzt haven wir diese riesige zielscheibe hinten drauf,]” One of the two Bellwall guards, a girl with short black hair, said.

The other guard, a girl with a red ponytail, kicked the right boot of the other one as hard as she could.“[Hör auf zu meckern und halt die klappe. Dein blödes genörgel hat uns diese scheiß wachschicht überhaupt eingebrockt. Ich krieg net noch ne zweite disziplinar maßnahme aufgehalst nur weil du deine große klappe net halten kannst.]”

“Ugh, where the heck did you learn to speak German like that? I can't understand half your sentence.”

“I'm telling you to shut the fuck up because your big mouth got us assigned to guard duty. And speak German. You have any idea what's gonna happen if we get an infraction because they catch us speaking Japanese?”

“[Без разницы.]” The black haired guard looked out into the rain. “[Никто не появится.]”

Ponytail hissed. “You know I fucking flunked Russian.”

“[Ist doch nicht mein problem.]”

“[Ich machs gleich dein problem.]”

“[Oh, komm nur, vor dir hab ich keine angst.]” Moving closer to ponytail, the black haired girl grabbed her by her collar. “You wanna go at it right now?”

The other girl's eyes went wide all of a sudden and her mouth started to form words. “Behind-” Both of them crashed down into the mud, the butts of automatic rifles slammed against their backs. They groaned and complained but it was too late. Rosehip was on top of ponytail and her right fist connected with the face of the delinquent girl beneath. But that didn't impress the German soldier very much. A second and a third punch followed right after and Rosehip took a hit to her nose before the girl beneath her finally gave up, groaning and seeing stairs instead of rain.

Assam's battle went much more quietly. Her throat was encompassed by Assam's arms and she was unable to breathe. Struggling as much as she could, trying to elbow Assam's stomach, the blonde kicked the back of her knees, forcing her on the ground, still holding her in a sleeper hold. _Perhaps this is pushing the boundaries of the rules of interpersonal combat, but, beside a very strong headache, she will be fine when she wakes up._ Looking at her girlfriend, Assam could just barely make out that Rosehip was bleeding from her nose. _These new rules certainly open up many possibilities of proper behavior among soldiers, but I am not sure that it was a good idea to relax the regulations on violence._

“[Rose, are you okay?]”

Rubbing her nose and swipe the blood from her face, Rosehip hit the soldier under her another time for good measure. “[Yeah. We should hurry up though.]”

Dragging the two girls a few meters away, behind one of the tanks so they could not be seen, the two British soldiers became German ones; stripping the enemy combatants of their uniforms and dressing them up in Gloriana ones. They only swapped the secondary uniforms, those worn specifically by combatants in this competition. Gloriana's British Army uniform was exchanged for a modified Wehrmacht Uniform, the military of Nazi Germany, that Bellwall used to distinguish themselves from Kuromorimine, who used the much more modern Bundeswehr uniform.

“[I hate this uniform.]”

“[Rose, are you absolutely sure you have no moral complaints about this?]”

“[They made themselves our enemy. This is war. We wouldn't hold fire just because a tank was flipped over by careless driving.]”

“[That has happened to you before, hasn't it?]”

“[No. It hasn't.]”

“[I am positive that-]”

“[Definitively has not.]”

“[I see.]” Assam smiled and then picked up the German Issue weaponry from the guards. “[Do you remember the plan?]”

“[I'm not a hare-brained! Whatever that means. I am pretty sure rabbits are smart.]”

“[Act natural. I heard that Bellwall Academy has a very high number of delinquents among them.]”

“[I know, I know.]”

Walking into the base, it was almost a ghost town. Lights were still on inside tents and there were handfuls of people here and there, but at large, Bellwall was resting. _They have fewer people than I thought, judging by the number of tents inside_. Assam observed her surroundings with great care. Marching straight towards the center of the base, which was formed like three quarters of a circle; going from the center towards the cliff was twice as fast as going from the center to the defensive ring.

Rosehip focused on the soldiers themselves; how they walked, conversed, behaved. She didn't understand a word of what they were saying, which was really inconvenient, but it really made her understand the value of the language barrier. If she couldn't understand them, the same was true for any invaders of their base. _We're just lucky that one of the Saunders' girl speaks German. Otherwise I wouldn't even know how to pronounce the words in that order they broadcast._

Assam just remembered that broadcast herself. “[Their broadcast ordered their own troops to cease hostilities against Kuromori and Ooarai. That means they have troops somewhere out there.]” She spoke only loud enough for Rosehip to hear her.

“[So this isn't all of them?]” Rosehip did notice that the number of tanks didn't really match up well with the number of tents. “[You think they got a second base somewhere?]”

“[Not a base but possibly a mobile strike force.]”

“[That's smart but risky.]”

“[It makes it difficult to pin down their exact location if you do not know that they can be in two places at once.]”

“[Hey! Ihr zwei!]”

Assam and Rosehip stopped immediately and turned towards the source of the voice. One of the very few larger tents was half open and a girl with either brown or black hair, it was impossible to tell exactly in the dark, was looking at them from the inside. “[Ja?]”

“[Geh und tell Enami und Neko das sie keine nachtwache zu schieben brauchen. Bei dem wetter geht netmals Kuromori vor die tür.]”

“[Verstanden.]” Assam replied turned to Rosehip and thought on her feet really quickly. “[I have only a very small idea of what she said. You go back to the guards in case she told us to. I am going to go ahead with the mission. That way it will look like either I am making you do what she said, or you are making me do it.]”

Rosehip threw up her arms as she turned on the spot and walked back the way she came. “[Ja, ja.]” _See that? I can learn on the fly!_

Assam walked in the opposite direction and since nobody thought to stop her, she believed her plan to be working. _Do not get caught, Rose_ Making her way around the base once, Assam had memorized the layout the best she could. _The number of people here really does not match up with the number of tanks. There are too few at this base. Even if they have a mobile strike force of tanks out there, there are still too few people here. Could they have a separate infantry team out there? In these conditions?_

“[Kannst du dir vorstellen bei dem wetter draußen zu sein und zu marschieren?]” Assam overheard two of the German soldiers talking inside a tent. She still didn't understand what they were saying, but that Saunders' girl Julie would. If she could memorize the phrases, she would be able to have them translated.

“[Hör bloß auf. Ich krieg schon kalt wenn ich nur daran denke. Ich bin immernoch der meinung das es keine gute idee war sich in vier zu teilen. Ich mean, gut, die basis brauch keine massive belegschaft. Aber Einsatzgruppe Eins und Zwei können ganz schön in thebredouille kommen wenn eine der großen schule sie angreift. Vorallem ES Zwei. Is ganz schön gefährlich ohne panzer unterwegs zu sein.]”

_This is harsh… there is no way I can memorize all of that so quickly._ Assam closed her eyes for a moment and tried to commit the phrases to memory. Before she could finish, someone put their hand on her shoulder. It took all of her self control to not freak out.

“[Was is los? Gehts dir nich gut, soldat?]”

Assam turned around and looked as miserable as she could. Making a few coughing noises and touching her throat, she shook her head.

“[Stimme is weg?]”

Assam nodded on suspicion because it sounded like a question.

“[Warum läuft du dann immer noch im regen rum?]”

Assam saluted so quickly and briefly that there was no time to make out the differences between a Gloriana and a Bellwall salute. “[P-Pflicht...]” Sounding as hoarse as possible, Assam sniveled.

“[Das bringt so garnix. Ab ins zelt mit dir und ruh dich aus. Wenn du wegen krankheit disqualifiziert wirst hat sich das mit der pflicht auch erledigt.]”

“[Verstanden.]” Assam had absolutely no idea what she was saying but there were only a few distinct possibilities here. _She probably told me to go and rest. One of the words sounded like_ _ **disqualified**_ **.**

“[Moment noch. Von welche gruppe bist du eigentlich? Ich kann mich an dein gesicht garnet erinnern.]”

Assam opened her mouth and broke out in violent coughing.

The soldier that had stopped her raised her hands. “[Is auch egal. Geh nur.]”

Assam quickly stepped away, went past one of the supply tents where she could see cooking utensils, and doubled back around some of the smaller tents to where the solders had been talking previously. But they were either no longer awake or had left the tent. _I don't have time to find another convenient situation like this._ Boldly walking between the tents, to be less suspicious, Assam pulled the German automatic rifle from her back. _It should be happening any time now._

Waiting in the rain for something to happen was absolutely awful. Minutes passed and they felt like hours. Assam was patient but the rain and the cold were getting to her, especially after having crawled through the mud for so long.

And finally, **finally** , the mission started. One of the tanks that formed the defensive ring fired down the slope. Once, then twice. And after the second shot, gunfire originated from three different spots inside the base. Assam was one of them. “[Feindangriff! Maginot greift uns an!]” Assam shouted in her best German, a phrase she had practiced earlier under guidance of the girl from Saunders that actually spoke German.

Chaos broke out in the base in an instant. Soldiers, dressed in an absolute hurry, jumped out of their tents with their weapons ready, completely lost on where the attack was happening. Only about twenty meters away was Rosehip, shooting aimlessly at the tents and the supply station, shouting the same thing over and over. And the panic took root.

Lights came on, soldiers rushed to the defensive ring and tanks were started up, barrels facing the forest. One of the tanks opened fire, for the third time, and the others followed suit, shooting at absolutely nothing.

Assam shot at the empty space between tents towards the cliff. “[Sie sind an der felswand!]” They were all previously practiced phrases. Assam knew what they meant, for now. This one in particular was _They're at the Cliff_.

Firing again, Assam faked being shot and fell backwards into the mud. Other soldiers saw her, the dead body, and immediately charged between the tents, roaring various battlecries in German. Before anyone could notice, Assam got up and made her way towards the defensive line.

Rushing past the tanks, Assam found the two unconscious Bellwall soldiers. But someone else was there, kneeling over them. “[Keine bewegung!]” Assam pointed her gun at the unknown, who recognized her voice.

“[Tee.]” The German word for tea.

Assam didn't say anything else, put her gun back over her shoulder and assisted the other soldier, one of the two girls from Saunders, in doing what was necessary. Stripping the girls of their secondary uniforms; they swapped clothes again. Outside the actual base it was too dark to actually see who wore what. The tanks were not equipped with enough lights to cover the entire slope. The tank that had been firing first, others had followed suit in the meantime, now adjusted the aim towards the west, away from the tank hidden inside the forest.

Lights followed the firing direction and the forest was bombarded. In the middle of the chaos, over a dozen Bellwall soldiers started descending the slope, armed and cautiously firing at whatever shadows they spotted at the bottom of the slope. Four of those soldiers, indistinguishable from the others in the dark of the slope, separated, one by one, from the main force, heading to the eastern end of the forest.

The firing sounds and the German shouting continued for a long time after. Assam hid together with who she now recognized as Julie. They were both brunette, so she had trouble differentiating the two in the dark. A third soldier approached and both Assam and Julie pointed their guns at them. “[Tee.]”

“[Where is Rosehip?]” Assam was worried about her. _If she has gotten caught… I don't want to imagine it. That would be cruel, parting ways like this so soon._

“[She is not here yet?]” Nicolle was not even remotely out of breath. Saunders had trained really hard, especially their infantry drills.

“[I am waiting for her here.]” Assam was resolute in not abandoning her girlfriend. _I know it is not a rational decision. But if Rosehip has been eliminated, I need to know. My current position allows me to easily aim and hit most anyone that approaches if I make use of the night vision binoculars. Emptying my magazine will severely diminish Bellwall's forces and-_ Assam freaked when two freezing cold hands suddenly covered her cheeks. Twisting around, her elbow just narrowly missed the stomach of whoever it was that was behind her.

“[Stop, stop! Tea, tea! I said tea!]” Rosehip backed away from Assam to save herself. She was out of breath and covered in mud. “[I ended up charging into the eastern forest and causing a bunch of friendly fire. I didn't feel getting hit, so I don't think I did, but check my back for me.]” Turning around, Rosehip waited for a short moment so Assam could check her back.

Instead, Assam immediately hugged her. “[I was worried about you.]”

“[I hate to interrupt you two, but we need to go. They are going to find the guards we knocked out any moment now.]”

“[Then what are we standing around for? Hurry up.]” Rosehip didn't bother to wait for Assam to let go. One quick, fluid movement later, Assam was being carried by Rosehip, who was huffing and puffing from the extra burden.

=== Tea and Cola ===

“[Commander.]” No reply. “[Commander!]”

Kay groaned like an old man. “Which one...”

“[Both of you. Please. This is very important.]”

Kay groaned again, even worse than before and rose from her slumber, pulling out her arm beneath Darjeeling and sitting up, bent over, rubbing her eyes. A loud yawn – a long few seconds of scratching the top of her head. “[What the hell can be this important?]”

“[Maginot is contacting us and their commander in chief, Eclair, is demanding to speak with both of you immediately.]”

“[The French know as little of proper timing as they know of tactics...]” Darjeeling had a real poison tongue when she was woken in the middle of the night. “[What reason could she possibly have to **demand** , what audacity too, to speak with us?]”

“[We are lucky that their commander speaks English. It would be difficult to find a translator at this hour.]” The messenger looked sleep deprived herself and to make everything worse, the rain was still going strong. “[Please come to the command center as soon as you are dressed.]”

“[Bloody hell… going out into the rain again… I'm gonna tear that Eclair or whatever a new one.]” Kay wanted to just lie back down, put Darjeeling back into her embrace and go back to sleep. Only her desire to win and her sense of duty made her stay up. Slowly peeling herself out of bed, Kay was grumpy beyond belief. They even used a sleeping bag like a blanket as an extra measure to stay warm. “[Darling. Please get up.]”

“[Je déteste le français.]” Darjeeling cursed and rose from the bed. Kay had worked extra hard and made sure that the bed could support them both by reinforcing all the weaker sections with wooden boxes and piles of papers. It was not the most comfortable thing to sleep on, but sleeping in Kay's arms had been the best rest she had gotten in months. “[J'espère qu'ils se noient.]”

“[I have no idea what you're saying, Darling.]”

“[Cursing the French **in** French.]”

Kay shivered when her body cooled down in the cold air and picked up her clothes, which really needed a wash at this point. Picking up Darjeeling's clothes as well and putting them on the field bed, Kay stretched, her back and neck making a few cracking noises. “[Do you feel sore?]”

“[Hardly.]”

“[I didn't know you spoke French, too.]”

“[Back at school I assumed that a situation like this might arise. I was presented the option to learn French because one of the graduates of our tankery team was fluent in French. My grammar most likely requires some work and my vocabulary might be lacking but I can speak the language of those ignorant people that would wake someone in the middle of the night.]”

“[Ah, nice, that messenger left an umbrella for us. I thought she looked strangely dry.]” The whole of the base had only about five umbrellas, which really didn't do them much good outside of situations like this.

Waiting for Darjeeling to get dressed, Kay yawned loudly a few times. “[This better be life or death. I swear, if she woke us up for some small time bullshit I am going to take out a dozen tanks and go over there to witness some real French retreating.]”

Walking closely together, sharing the same umbrella, they didn't really feel the same romantic atmosphere that they had expected; too tired and annoyed with this sudden development. Darjeeling snuggled against Kay as much as walking over planks permitted, looking for warmth, both physically and emotionally. Over the last week she had come to be strangely dependent on her, in many ways. Nothing about that had diminished her capacity to lead Gloriana, but she felt that something was missing whenever she was separated from Kay and it made her otherwise crystal clear and sharp mind a little less so.

The base felt deserted. Here and there were the guards that had duty at night. Those same girls had been excused from the earlier work to make up for having to sit around in the cold and with a raincoat on for hours, peering into the dark.

The command center was a very big tent, the only tent bigger than the one that Kay and Darjeeling shared. Inside sat three girls, one at the radio, another at a different radio and a third that sat on the third of three folding chairs, the messenger girl that had woken them up.

Kay just looked at the second girl, the one that was responsible for catching enemy and foreign signals, and had her vacate the chair. Remembering that Darjeeling was a lady at the last second, Kay moved past the chair and stood next to it, leaned on the folding table the equipment was placed on. It was one of the many reserve radios that Saunders owned. 

After Darjeeling sat down, Kay opened communications. “[I am the overall commander of Saunders Girls' High School. Identify yourself.]”

“[Here speaks Le Commandant of Maginot, Académie des filles. My name est Eclaire.]”

“[In the interest of everyone, keep it short.]” Kay didn't have the patience for pleasantries right now, and she was pretty sure that Darjeeling didn't either.

“[Académie Bellwall has contacted us, demanding an déclaration officielle regarding our Attaque de nuit on them.]”

“[Your wait?]”

“[A night attack. An infantry raid, in all likelihood.]” Darjeeling explained. _I absolutely and vehemently refuse to speak French with a woman that has the audacity and bad manners to wake me in the middle of the night_.

“[Why are you contacting **us** about that? Bellwall is our enemy.]”

“[Oui, Bellwall is an enemy. But nous did not attack them. It was une parcelle de tiers! A plot by third party!]”

“[Make your point or this conversation is done.]”

“[Un char de St. Gloriana- One tank of St. Gloriana was seen by our patrols close to the Bellwall camp before pluie set in and made observing impossible! It was you, was it not, that pretended to be us!]”

Kay didn't respond and looked at Darjeeling. “[What do we do?]”

“[Commander, if I may… We contacted Julie earlier, the scouting group this woman is talking about, and she confirms that we were in fact responsible for this. It was initiated without prior orders under sergeant Assam's orders.]”

“[Darling, what-]”

“[Assam is a very thorough and smart girl. I can see where she wants this to lead. However, she acted without orders and so she undermined our authority. I will have a long talk with her about this when she returns.]” Shifting the microphone to the side, Darjeeling took over. “[This is commander Darjeeling, of the British forces, supreme commander of St. Gloriana and joint commander of the Allied forces pertaining the special relationship between the American and British forces.]”

It was a psychological ploy. Introducing herself with such a long title was supposed to intimidate the commander of a smaller school, one at that that was only a second year and one that had only recently become the commander.

“[We do indeed have a scouting vessel within operational range of Bellwall Academy's encampment. However, do you truly believe that a scouting vessel, consisting of no more than four people, could mount an armed invasion of an enemy encampment and cause enough damage that their command would warrant contacting the perceived source?]”

“[C'est... Je veux dire... Peut-être qu'ils ...]” The girl completely reverted to French, audibly rattled by Darjeeling's response.

“[I find it insulting that you would accuse the Allied Forces without proof of such an act. I will consider this slander and-]”

“[Stop, **stop**! **Je** **m'excuse**!]” Eclair had learned the hard way that being a commander was a tough job and that she couldn't just piss off the largest combined force in this competition without proof.

“[What **is** true is that Bellwall has allied themselves with Kuromorimine and Ooarai, forming the Axis, an alliance directly opposed to us and fully intent on wiping out every small school and cannibalizing their assets before attempting to fight us. Like cowards they will prey on those less numerous and experienced than them and I believe strongly that Maginot will be among the first to be attacked. You would do well to consider that Bellwall might merely be using an alleged attack, for which they will no doubt be unable to deliver proof, to create justification to attack you with their new allies.]”

“[Merde.]” The girl slipped up. The line went quiet for a long time and both Darjeeling and Kay could imagine how much that poor girl had to be fretting on the other end. “[Is- Is there any way I can apologize for my previously rude behavior, s'il vous plaît?]”

“[I believe everything that had to be said, has been said,]” Darjeeling said and quickly glanced to Kay and held the mic part of the radio towards her.

“[Wait.]” Kay _interrupted_ the conversation. “[I believe there is something.]”

“[Si possible I would like to somehow make up for this blunder of mine.]”

“[Answering this is up to you, but I'm asking anyway. How many people and tanks has Maginot as their disposal?]”

“[We… lost a number of people close to a year ago. Recruitment has been promising since then, but it still leaves us slightly short of our original numbers. We have Soixante-douze, that is seventy-two, girls capable of sound service. We possess twenty-one tanks currently.]”

“[She said possess. That means they either lost part of those they brought or gained a surplus by capturing enemy vehicles.]” Darjeeling had higher hopes for Eclair than she had ever had for Madeleine, her predecessor.

“[We wanted them to be our shield. Should I let her stew some more or make a move for it now?]”

“[Things are moving along nicely, everything considered.]”

The line was dead for so long that Kay would not have been surprised to hear a relieved sign on the other end. “[I managed to convince my partner that it would profit all parties involved if we, the Allied Forces, officially extended the hand of friendship to Maginot Girls' Academy and offer them a position as a temporary member in our alliance. However, our plans are pretty much incompatible with the technical aspects of your tanks, which means that Maginot has to be okay with fulfilling a mostly, maybe purely, defensive role. You will move your base to an area very close by. After our alliance expires, you will be given sixty hours to move your base again so neither of us has an unfair advantage. It is up to you to accept those terms or not. We're not going to fight your battles for you, but you might get away without having to get chased around by German wolves if you take the offer. It's not except pure glory and honor, but being the dragon that guards the treasure hoard is important, too.]”

“[What was that about a dragon, Kay?]” Darjeeling looked at her girlfriend with a strange expression.

“[I tried to sound all official-like! You know, like you! You always make those weird analogies.]”

“[Not in official negotiations with another commander.]”

“[Woops. I guess that's too late now.]”

“[Puis-je vous contacter demain?]” There was a brief pause. “[Can I contact you tomorrow? I cannot make this decision without at least talking to my sub-commanders.]”

“[The offer expires at noon tomorrow. You have until then. Do not contact us without an answer.]” Darjeeling said and turned off the radio. “[I have little doubt that she will accept. Creating a situation like this is far outside your and my moral boundaries, which I why I know Assam did not ask for permission.]”

“[I kinda made up the conditions on the fly. What are we gonna do about stationing them nearby?]”

“[The forest is large. They can fortify themselves among the trees, just outside our outer ring, much like a satellite state.]”

Sitting, and standing, there, Kay and Darjeeling felt the adrenaline of brokering a deal wear off and sleepiness hit them with the force of a T28 firing at point blank range. “[Let's go.]” Kay was overcome by a loud yawn just after she said so.

Returning to their tent, through the rain with an umbrella in hand, they were relatively dry and relatively happy with what they had achieved. “Assam is pretty clever, setting this all up...”

“She absolutely is. She is second to none but myself in Gloriana when it comes to tactics.”

Unlike a lady, Darjeeling sloppily took off her clothes and left them on the ground, the same as Kay. Crawling into their reinforced bed first, Darjeeling shivered because she was in just her underwear now. “I do hope this rain ceases soon or this might turn into the first world war, not the second.”

“Sorry, no idea what you mean.” Kay followed suit and the two vanished completely under their blanket, 

“They had not much heavy machinery in the first world war. It was mostly a gruesome conflict fought from trenches, in the dirt.”

“It's gonna stop. But… grrrr, it makes me so mad we won't be able to get any use out of our T28 before the ground dries.”

“Thinking about the ground… I am quite impressed with this carrier. They even had the means to create artificial rivers and climates here.”

“It's kinda easy to forget we're on a ship.”

“Kay, you're crushing my waist.”

“I don't buy it. Darling, you're way more sturdy than you look.”

“Now what is that supposed to mean?”

“I'm just saying you're not the frail lady you present. I think the real you is the commander out on the battlefield.”

“That has nothing to do with my waist, Kay.”

“Hm, I guess it doesn't.”

“So what could you have meant by calling me **study** of all things?”

“You sound kinda mad.”

“I certainly have no idea what you mean.” Darjeeling sounded as upset as she had been when Kay boiled the tea for too long and ruined the flavor of the entire pot.

“I'm saying you look like a princess on the outside but I bet you could have done shovel duty like me without trouble.”

“You really ought to work on your communication skills.”

“Arisa and Naomi tell me that all the time. I don't get why tho.”

“The way you say things… you are priming yourself for misunderstandings.”

“But you're too smart for that, right?”

“Flattering me will not work.” Saying that, Darjeeling slowly turned over in bed, carefully so to not push Kay over the edge and out beneath the cover. Facing Kay in the dark beneath the blanket, she attempted to kiss her but misjudged where Kay's lips were and hit her nose instead.

“What was that?” Kay sounded amused.

“Y-You did not deserve a full kiss for a simple compliment such as that.” She was terribly embarrassed once she realized that she had mistaken Kay, again, for being taller than her. _She just… projects this image that she is taller than myself. I sometimes cannot help but see her that way._

“I bet you thought I was taller than you.”

“Absolutely not.” _How in the name of Tetley does she know?_

“No? Girls at my school always make that mistake. When I need a spare uniform, or a new one, they always get them one or two sizes too big. Or when we talked strategy and infantry drills and everyone thought they could just hide behind me because apparently I'm go… go… what's the name of the big dude in the story of the big and small warriors and the small one wins?”

“Goliath.” Darjeeling briefly snorted and immediately felt embarrassed over doing so. “I wonder what could make them think that way.”

“Don't ask me! I'm not even that tall! Naomi is taller than me, by a lot! And this never happens to her.”

_Perhaps because she is quite unremarkable, other than her height._ “Could it be that you simply look so very tall compared to Alisa?”

“If she was any shorter, I'd fall over her,” Kay joked and was surprised when Darjeeling used that moment to put her arms around her waist. “You're kinda cold.”

“I cool out quickly.”

“Must be nice in the summer.”

“I also get hot very quickly.”

“Darling, darling, darling...” Kay lightly shook her head. “You are **always** hot.”

There was a semi-eternal moment of awkward silence before Darjeeling rested her own forehead against Kay's. “Worse than your communication skills is your sense of humor.”

“It's an A-”

“I will remove you from the bed with ultimate prejudice if you finish that sentence, Kay.”

“I feel all weird.”

“Have you never been in love before?”

“Huh? Oh, no, I mean more **physically**.”

“Kay, if you need to go to the bathroom, then-”

“That's not it! Geez, what am I, a little girl?”

“Then what is it?”

“It's like being anxious but at the same time… excited. I want to see where this alliance leads us, but I'm also about to pee myself-”

“Kay, I just said-”

“It's a figure of speech!”

“You are so cute.”

“You're so mean.”

“So you are excited and worried about our immediate future here.”

“Yeah.”

“It makes me happy to hear that.”

“Happy?”

“After getting together in such a hurry and our relationship progressing at such a grand pace, I was worried that the reality of things might catch up to you in a bad way and you would reject-”

“ **Stupid**.”

“D-Did you just call me stupid?”

“Stupid, stupid.”

“Kay!”

“But it's stupid to worry about things like that. If I didn't think this was working out for me in a stellar way, I'd never share a bed with you. Especially not when it's killing my left shoulder like this.”

“You should have said something! I can move back a little and-” Darjeeling didn't get very far with her attempts to make Kay more comfortable. Her butt immediately reached the edge of the bed and beyond that, by her side, was just the wall of the tent. Instead of moving backwards, Darjeeling pulled on Kay's waist as hard as she could, getting her a little closer – so close that she was rubbing against her top to bottom. “Are you still hurting?”

“No. But I think if we stay like this, neither of us is gonna get any sleep because it's really turning me on.”

“You are such a pervert.”

“Am not. Anyone would be turned on if they had your legs, hips and boobs rubbing against them. And to top it all off, I can totally feel your breath. **How** does your breath not smell? We didn't exactly brush our teeth.”

“A lady never has bad breath.”

“Do… does mine smell?”

“All I can smell is wet earth and rain.”

“I need to get Naomi to give me some of that gum she is hoarding.”

“Your breath is fine, Kay.”

“Really?”

“What a silly thing to worry about.” Darjeeling smiled in the dark and she could somehow tell that Kay did the same. This time she didn't misjudge the distance and she kissed Kay with more fervor than she had thought she would. “We really ought to sleep… it will not do for the general commanders of two armies to be sleep deprived and short of thought all day long because of their personal desires.”

“You say that while you're groping my ass.”

“E-Even a lady has some things that are too tempting for her to resist.”

“Heh… thanks. And honestly, I am **so sore** all over, there is no way I can go another round, sorry Darling.”

“You did look quite impressive out there in the rain.”

“There's no way you saw me out there in the dark.”

“So you were not impressive then?”

“I didn't say that!”

Both of them fell silent for a time and Darjeeling stopped feeling up her girlfriend immediately as they went quiet. As close together as they were, every deep breath would push and press their breasts together and annoy the other by blowing wind on their face – so both of them made a conscious effort to breath lightly, shallow, trying to fall asleep.

“Kay...” Her eyes closed, her breathing steady now, Darjeeling was on the doorstep of the land of dreams.

“Hm?”

“I love you...”

“Sure...”

An awkward pause and Darjeeling stubbed Kay's feet with her own. “Kay...”

“I love you too… you know that...”

“Hearing it is important...”

Kay didn't respond with words. A fleeting kiss to say goodnight, Kay went ahead and fell asleep.

=== Tea and Cola ===

Trying to pull her absolutely stubborn hair back, she still could not find her ribbon and blonde strands obscured her vision again. Having someone hang on to her like their life depended on it did not help. “Rose… let go. I need to fix my hair.”

“No. You look way more sexy with bed hair.”

“A girl shouldn't be saying that.”

“My hair always looks kinda like bed hair, so what's the harm?” Reaching up and twirling one of the larger strands of Assam's hairs around her finger, Rosehip leaned against her, half covered by the fire blanket. “I'm freezing… let's stay under the blanket for a little longer.”

Assam looked at the empty blanket next to them. The two girls from Saunders had left about thirty minutes ago, when the rain had finally stopped. The weather had replaced on catastrophe with another – the fog outside was thick enough that Rosehip likened it to Silent Hill, the original version. Assam had no idea what that was, and hearing an explanation from her girlfriend didn't help her understand, but she did understand something else. With the fog like this and the ground a veritable marsh, tanks were not going to be of much use, not for now. But this was a grandiose chance for those schools that had done many an infantry drill to show off.

“We did agree that we would wait here.” Assam looked at Rosehip who tried her best to make puppy eyes but she looked more like a very excited adult dog that wanted to get belly rubs. Puppy eyes she could have resisted – but not this unbridled concentration of hope and desire. “Help me find my ribbon and we can warm each other for a little while.”

“How long?”

“Until our compatriots from Saunders return.”

“Yes!” Rosehip reached beneath her butt and pulled out Assam's ribbon – more than just a little crumbled.

“Rose… you sat on it all this time?”

“Nope. I dunno how but it ended up stuck between my boobs when I woke up.”

“Breasts. Rose, a lady ought-”

“I'm not a lady and definitely never will be. I'm like one of those new rich people that got no idea how to act around the old aristocrats.”

Assam chuckled. “That is strangely fitting.”

“You think the fog is gonna go away?”

“Probably not anytime soon. I hope our commanders have a plan for a situation like this.”

“Lady Darjeeling definitely. But that Kay?” Rosehip waved her hand in a dismissive way. “No way.”

“We'll see.” Assam had a somewhat better opinion of Kay than Rosehip did.

=== Tea and Cola ===

(To be continued)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A sister story to this - Eisenkreuz Imouto - will be launched next as another patron free pick. It will primarily focus on Nishizumi Miho and Maho as a couple, with the possibility of side couples in there as well. For now, the first release of it will be a double issue, like this chapter (which originally was supposed to be two separate 10,000 word chapters). Please look forward to delicious Nishizumi sisterly incest.


	5. Chapter 5

The fog made it difficult to see more than five meters ahead of you. It reminded Kay of an old video game. “[It's not going away.]” It had been four hours since the day guard had woken, punctually at six, and three hours since Kay and Darjeeling had left their tent. “[What do we do? We already sat on our asses for like two days because of the rain. Did the organizers not watch the weather forecast?]”

Kay had her hands buried in Darjeeling's pants pockets, standing behind her and resting her chin on the Brit's shoulder. “[So what are we gonna do?]” Standing at the edge of the base, on top of a tank, they would have been perfect sniper targets – if visibility wasn't limited like now.

“[Do you have to lean on me like this?]” Darjeeling was a little grouchy. The only tea they had left was not exactly up to her standards and without tea she was only half as British and twice as grouchy as she would have been already, considering that she slipped on Kay's thermos in the morning and fell flat on her butt.

“[I already apologized! I even gave you my share of sugar!]” Sugar was harshly rationed and one of the few things the soldiers traded amongst each other for other rationed things.

“[I am not mad.]”

“[You totally are! Your right eyebrow does a nosedive towards your eye when you're mad.]”

Darjeeling stuttered a few incomprehensible beginnings of a sentence before she stepped forward, so she could turn around. “[It does not.]” Her right brow was almost touching her eye now.

“[Okay, it doesn't.]” Kay looked away. _I read enough manga to know where this is going if I push her._ “[Speaking of things that aren't, Maginot isn't here.]”

“[Driving tanks in this fog… they won't be able to move faster than we would on foot. It's entirely possible to drive right into a tree, a ravine or even a river.]” Darjeeling was still mad. “[And you gave in **suspiciously** quickly on the issue of my brow.]”

“[I don't want to fight with you. I'd rather be wrong when I'm not and be able to cuddle than be right and stand alone in this darn fog and cold.]” The sun was not quite piercing through the fog. They didn't need extra lights, but it was still hard to see. And it was cold to boot, both because of the sun and fog itself.

“[I was mad.]” _A lady cannot face such honesty and maintain a charade of ignorance and keep false pretenses. It would be both unseemly and disgraceful_. “[It was also childish of me to be mad. You may have left the thermos on the floor but not so that I would fall over it.]”

“[Be mad at the Thermos instead. Just don't shoot it with a tank.]”

“[I would not waste ammunition for such a petty thing!]”

“[Do you know any good jokes about the french?]” Kay quickly changed the subject.

“[As much as I dislike them and would rather not have to rely on them, you shouldn't make fun of them. Not to their face, I mean.]” Darjeeling's hatred of the French was based in nothing but her obsession with the British. A long standing rivalry and dislike of each other existed between those two countries and she bought into it as part of her immersion in the war.

“[You seem kind of evil when you talk about the french.]” Kay got close enough to her girlfriend to stick her hands back into her pockets. “[It's kind of sexy.]”

Resting her hands against Kay's shoulders, Darjeeling kissed her – not as a reward or anything else. Just an expression of her honest desire for her partner. “[A lesser woman than myself would say that she has already won this war and obtained the greatest spoils. But a lady such as myself is not satisfied with just that. We will win. Against the Germans, the Japanese, everyone. We will show everyone that our-, no, the special relationship is the strongest one there is.]”

“[Aren't you enthusiastic?]” Kay's signature wide smirk brightened the day of her companion. “[So what do we do when we're the last ones left?]”

“[Why, I will be defeating you of course. To prove that I am the leading lady in this story of ours.]”

“[You sound like Balthier.]” Kay referenced a video game and figured that Darjeeling was not the type to engage in hobbies like that. “[It's a character from a game. Not the main character but definitely the coolest and most refined one.]”

“[I didn't think you were the type to play video games.]” Resting her head against Kay's shoulder, Darjeeling shivered a little. It was quite cold, albeit not nearly as cold as standing soaked in the rain. “[Any other strange hobbies I should know about?]”

“[It's not strange! Lots of people play games! Sometimes the weather is too shit to go out and practice tanks and stuff. Although since the rulebooks were handed out, we've just been doing infantry drills and stuff when the weather was crap.]”

“[Kay, could you be any more vulgar?]” Darjeeling breathed a sigh of disappointment. “[My life is much like a movie from the west. The refined lady, taken away by the uncouth element from outside her social existence – she falls in love and throws away a life of confinement but luxury for one of freedom and adventure.]”

“[You watched Pirates of the Ca-]”

“[I most certainly do not watch any such films.]” Darjeeling blushed a little. Movies were one of her guilty pleasures, especially the big actions flicks from America. Speaking English fluently came with the advantage of being able to watch the movies in original tone. “[One day, we should visit Britain together.]”

“[And America after.]”

“[I am not a particularly great fan of America. My favorite thing about it… would be you.]”

“[Wow, I'm a **thing** now.]” Kay laughed out loud. “[If we both go into professional tankery, maybe-]”

“[Kay! Get your ass moving, Maginot got ambushed on their way here and they radioed for help!]” Alisa was shouting at them from below the tank, already shouldering a rifle. “[Get down here and give the order to march al-]” Alisa staggered backwards when Kay jumped down from the over two meter high tank, landed on the wet ground with a loud thud, gritting her teeth and bolting in the direction of the camp immediately.

Kay's shouting was audible still despite being far inside the camp when Darjeeling had descended from the tank as well, not running but marching as fast as humanly possible while maintaining a minimum amount of dignity.

“[If the Sherman can't get traction then mobilize the M22! What the heck are you standing around for? Move! **Move**! Go go go go go!]” Kay was a friendly person whenever possible but she could also be a drill sergeant. “[Get all three of our M1 running STAT!]” Kay was unaware that _stat_ was not used in that context.

Darjeeling was back herself, marching right into the command tent. “[Mobilize the LT Mark VII and Mark VIII at once. Operational status for all six of them in eight minutes. Load each vehicle with two Infantry ready soldiers in addition to crew. Wake them or have them abandon other tasks if necessary.]” While Kay was shouting at everyone, fast and powerful, Darjeeling was an iron voice that pierced through the noise of an emergency like a siren. Everyone from Gloriana that listened to her immediately followed her orders.

Both commanders came back together at the main radio operator and after a cursory glance, Kay nodded at Darjeeling to pick up the microphone. “[This is General Commander Darjeeling of the Allied Forces. Report.]”

“[Nous sommes attaquйs!]” A loud explosion briefly cut the connection. “[Demander une aide immйdiate!]”

“[I don't need to speak french to understand that.]” Kay turned around, took a deep breath and Darjeeling covered her ears. “[Everyone double tempo! I don't care if we're not fully loaded or gonna run out of gas five hundred meters before we're back home, hurry up!]”

“[You are strangely motivated to help them.]” Darjeeling was glad she didn't have to yell at her troops like that.

“[Of course I am. You're too. We joke about making fun of them and bullying them into this alliance and what not, but **right now** they're our allies. We stand for freedom, justice – grace and loyalty. We will not turn a blind eye because it might be convenient.]”

“[I love this part of you.]”

“[There are parts you don't love?]”

“[I hate your table manners and your lack of neatness.]” Darjeeling got a connection again. “[L'aide est en route!]” Her voice was unusually powerful as she said that, impressing Kay.

_I guess she **can** be loud if she wants to. She just doesn't get emotional in front of others much._ “[We need to get going too.]”

“[This weather could not be worse for a lady sniper.]” Clicking her tongue, Darjeeling put the mic away and left for the armory, Kay hot on her trail. “[I only have rudimentary training with firearms other than a sniper rifle so I will be cautious. Kay, I am going to count on you to defend me if necessary.]”

To prove a point, Kay grabbed a weapon stand that must have weighted at least thirty kilos and easily lifted it up. “[Push comes to shove, I am counting on the fog to make me punching people in the face go away.]”

Darjeeling was both impressed and a little disturbed. “[You brute.]”

“[Wow, rude!]” Grabbing a heavy full-automatic rifle from the stand, Kay shouldered it and then grabbed two more hand guns. She'd rather be slowed down a little bit and armed to the teeth than run out of ammo and take a bullet halfway through a firefight. “[This is going to be my first real fight out of tanks.]”

“[If they are fighting out of tanks at all.]”

“[They got to be. In this fog? Imagine trying to hit a tank! The gunner is gonna quit her job on the spot and the driver will be going nuts since you could be driving into god knows what any second.]”

“[Process of elimination. You're more logical than I thought.]”

“[I've been thinking this for a while… but you thought I'm an idiot, right?]”

“[At most, a simpleton.]”

“[That's totally the same thing!]”

“[Absolutely not. A simpleton may be well meaning but yet not thinking about their actions a lot.]”

“[That's totally describing an idiot!]”

Five minutes later, Kay was squeezed into a tiny M22 Locust, a light tank that Saunders had brought just in case. It could hit 64 km/h, which was over one and a half times that of the heavier Sherman. The M1 could go even faster but they avoided separating their forces. The Mark VIII light tanks from Gloriana were a support force, unable to keep up with the superior speeds of the Mark VII and the Saunders' light tanks.

Kay felt tense. Alisa and Naomi were in different tanks and so was Darjeeling, riding in a Mark VII, right behind the other Mark VII that housed Rosehip, who had her driver drive like the devil herself. As long as the radio line with Rosehip was open, a line that every tank in the line intently listened to, they hadn't driven into any obstacles. They had coordinates, Alisa had relayed them to everyone before departure in a hurry, but they couldn't see more than the tail of the tank in front of them.

Seventeen minutes of pure tension – every second, every time they hit even a small uneven patch of ground, the drivers felt adrenaline rush through their bodies. It was like driving blind through a hostile environment. The soldiers inside the tanks had worried and tense looks on their faces, without exception.

And finally the blind chase came to a screeching halt when Rosehip's line went dead. In an instant, the second driver bolted to the right, the third to the left. It was protocol to avoid crashes. Bolting in different directions was more effective.

Seconds after Rosehip crashed, gunfire erupted, interrupted by French and German shouting, both unintelligible to the arriving forces. Pouring out of the tanks like aggravated ants, the allied forces immediately took cover on and behind their vehicles, gauging the enemy forces.

It was impossible to tell where exactly enemies stopped and allies began. It was Darjeeling who solved the immediate problem at hand, having anticipated as much. “[Je suis avec les forces alliées! Des chars français, feu ouvert!]” Commanding Maginot to open fire, regardless of where, it took thirty seconds of shouting and gunfire before a number of heavy cannon fire clearly established the position of the french tanks. Rushing that position in formation, they spotted a french ARL 44, parked at the bottom of a slope.

The French almost opened fire on the allies in the confusion of the fog. Thankfully Kay was among the very first group to make it there, shouting orders in English and establishing recognition that she was the commander – and the commander didn't charge a hostile encampment like that, that much was common sense.

“[Who is in command?]” Kay couldn't make herself understood with the French soldiers that were hunkered down behind the ARL 44. “[Commander?!]” Slapping her own chest and then pointing at the heavy tank next to her, the soldiers finally understood and pointed in the direction.

Twenty more soldiers of the allies made it to the ARL 44, coming under fire immediately by some unknown assailant. Kay didn't mess around. “[Open fire!]”

She didn't wait for results and, along with two guards, headed towards the location the fortified soldiers had pointed at. And sure enough, once she got close enough, she found three more French tanks, light tanks, in a triangle formation, over twenty soldiers taking cover within. Having guns pointed at her, Kay stomped on the ground. “[I'm General Commander of Saunders and the allied forces, Kay. Which one of you is the commander of Maginot?]”

A lot of french shouting greeted her, with guns pointed at her even more. Much to the dismay of her guards, Kay leaped forward, grabbed one of the Maginot soldiers by her collar and lifted her up from the ground. “[Your. Commander.]” She tried to speak as cleanly as possible. “[Where. is. Your. Commander?]”

“[Ne vous déplacez pas!]” “[Mettez-la!]” “[Lâchez vos armes!]” “[Rendez-vous maintenant!]”

Throwing the girl back on the ground, Kay whistled, sharp and long. Once. Then she waited five seconds and whistled again. She repeated that four more times, while the Maginot soldiers were still shouting at her. And finally, an out of breath Darjeeling arrived.

“[Nous sommes vos alliés! Abaissez vos armes, vos imbéciles.]” Darjeeling didn't have any sympathy for soldiers that couldn't tell when someone was not a threat. Shouting at them to lower their weapons was not without effect. “[Où se trouve le commandant Eclair?!]” When she got no answer for ten seconds, Darjeeling clicked her tongue. “[Répondez moi, soldat!]” She wasn't some kind of magical novel character that could remain her composure even under circumstances like this. Real people dealt with real emotions and real stress. And so she shouted and dealt with impatience.

“[Blessés.]” One of the soldiers finally replied. “[Fondue est en charge pour l'instant. Elle est supposée avoir vingt mètres dans cette direction!]” Pointing at the location where the second in command, Fondue, was supposed to be, Kay, Darjeeling and both of Kay's guards immediately left.

“[Their commander is wounded. This is not good.]” Darjeeling explained things to Kay, who didn't speak a lick of french.

“[You were badass, shouting at them like that.]”

“[Not now, Kay.]”

“[Yeah, I know. Can't help myself. Relieves str-]” There was no time to shout anything, so Kay just slammed her hand against Darjeeling's neck, both of them crashing to the ground, not a second too early. “[Man, I don't give enough gratitude to my gut.]” Bullets were pelting the ground just a meter away, turning the grass into different colors. That by itself was indicative that the attacker was using munitions from different schools. “[Shooting rainbows.]”

“[An alliance?]”

“[If this was the Axis then Maginot would be toast right now. They only had to let them get out a message. No point in not killing them all once they set a trap for us. No, I think whoever did this underestimated the frenchies.]”

“[Keep going then.]” Darjeeling crawled forward and got on her feet the second the enemy stopped firing.

The main force of Maginot was right ahead – more than a dozen tanks were haphazardly forming a defensive formation, a large number of soldiers within. To avoid being shot on sight, Darjeeling called ahead. “[Des renforts sont arrivés!]” Looking at Kay, she didn't need to explain what it meant.

The situation was chaos. The second in command of Maginot was everything but used to running operations out in the field. To begin with, suddenly having to break camp and move because some big alliance had it out for them all of a sudden was a disaster. With her chestnut light brown hair and the French army uniform, she did make a good impression. But she was completely out of her depth. “[Je suis Fondue, commandant par intérim de Magi-]”

“[English.]” Darjeeling was not going to speak that cursed language any longer.

“[I'm Fondue. Second commander of Maginot.]” Fondue's English was lacking at the very best and Darjeeling could tell in an instant. Prioritizing the situation and not her pride, she reverted to french.

While those two conversed, sometimes gesturing, Kay had a good look at the state of the soldiers and the tanks. And the more she looked, the more something dawned on her. “[This is a distraction.]”

Darjeeling heard Kay and immediately put a stop to Fondue's explanation. “[What makes you say that?]”

“[Everything. The tanks are not damaged. The area was not damaged either. So the enemy is here on foot. There are only a handful, at most, of wounded, too. We took over twenty minutes to get here. If they have the firepower to pin down tanks and the escorts, they should have the means to storm these shitty fortifications and kill everyone. But they just stick with suppressing fire.]”

“[A decoy for what then? Luring us out here won't do them much good. We have close to a hundred people still at base, including all of our largest tanks, including the T-28. Attacking our base in this weather, in tanks or on foot, would be foolhardy.]”

“[Kuromorimine is above petty tactics like that. There is no way that stubborn commander of theirs would go for this.]”

“[What about Miho? If it's Miho that were to suggest such a plan to Kuromorimine's commander...]”

“[Nah, I doubt it. Miho is the type that goes for a winning move. Kuromorimine has a ton of heavy tanks that can't be fielded in this weather and with this ground. No way they're moving on us. They shouldn't know where we are, either.]”

“[I want to rule out that Pravda could have betrayed us. Anzio has little to gain from staging an attack like this. They have light tanks but they definitely do not have the means to attack our base properly.]”

A sharp whistle, twice in a row and twice in succession, was heard from close by. “[Alisa found something.]” Saunders had numerous signals based on whistles when they were all out on the ground. Radio only worked from commander to tanks, not from commander to every single soldier. Putting her thumb and index fingers to her lips, Kay returned the whistle signal the same way.

The situation turned for the better as several whistle signals echoed from far and wide. They were all the same, four short ones in succession. _Enemy down_ or _Hostile killed_. “[Our girls are cleaning up nicely.]”

“[Kay, I do not think that is how that expression is used.]” Darjeeling ignored the pleading look of Fondue no longer and explained to her briefly what was going on. In return, Fondue explained what had transpired. “[Kay. It looks like their commander, Eclair, was shot and the wound is through and through. Chances are high she will survive but she will most likely be impaired from participation in combat.]”

“[If she can lead, she's doing her job. You don't need to be a soldier on the ground like we're doing right now to be a commander. It just helps if you can.]”

A two short, three long whistle came from really close by and it caught Kay's attention. “[They made a prisoner.]” Returning the whistle by two short, one long, two short, Kay signaled her own position. “[We'll know who attacked them in a minute.]”

A short whistle was one second. A long whistle was three seconds. There was also a very long whistle, reserved for a single signal, that was six seconds and only Kay was allowed to use that one. The signal for retreat.

The truth of who had been attacking Maginot was underwhelming. A single soldier, held at gunpoint and on her knees, was staring right past Kay and Darjeeling, at Fondue and her soldiers. And her eyes were full of hatred. Before anyone could ask her, she started to belch french obscenities at the enemy soldiers. Right until Kay grabbed her face, squeezing her cheeks so hard that the soldier trembled with pain.

“[Darling, tell this enemy combatant that the rules allow for a pretty lean degree of violence now. I wonder if she'll agree to talk some sense if the alternative is pretty dragged through the mud by a M1 going full speed.]”

_Kay, prolonged exposure to something like that would probably kill a person._ Communicating the threat to the enemy soldier, Darjeeling was impressed by the fearful look that girl gave Kay. _I know that Kay would never harm a person like that… but that expression on her face is not one of mercy._

Before the soldier could make up her mind, Kay forced her face down into the mud, her hand pressed hard on the back of the girl's head. “I'm usually the fair sport type… but you idiots nearly got my lovely darling killed. With all this fog the drones won't see everything, you know? So maybe you should start telling me what the hell is happening here.” Speaking in whispers and plain Japanese, Kay tried her very best evil commander impression and found it surprisingly fun. Of course, it would only be fun if it was pretense. If the soldier called her bluff, she would have to leave the interrogating to Alisa.

Letting the soldier back up, Kay grabbed her by her hair, just to drive home a point. She was still just whispering to that soldier because she didn't speak french. “Talk. There are people way worse than me here. And you know… the rules say only so much about physical pain. We could lock you up in a box and let you _escape_ every twenty hours to reset that imprisonment rule.”

The soldier started talking so quickly that Darjeeling found it impossible to keep up. “[I don't understand her.]” Looking to Fondue for help, Darjeeling was not surprised to see the acting commander make a pretty grim expression. “[Qu'est ce qu'elle dit?]”

Fondue explained things to Darjeeling the second the soldier finally quieted down. Darjeeling pulled Kay to the side, three armed guards from Saunders were holding the captive at gunpoint. They were not taking any risks with both of their commanders right there. “[Half of what she said can be summarized as _Please don't let the crazy woman hurt me_. You left quite the impression.]” 

“[I shall be known as the devil commander from the sixth heaven!]” Kay laughed loudly, using her best super villain impression. It made everyone around her twitchy. “[What else did she say?]”

“[She's a soldier from BC Freedom. They're also the French. Similar to Ooarai and Chi-Ha-Tan, they both represent France. But BC Freedom thought they would eliminate Maginot to make them the sole representative and earn all the sponsor money for themselves.]”

“[Greed is such a boring motivation.]” Kay looked at the soldier and had an idea. Walking back over there, she dug her fingers into the girl's hair and pulled her up until she stood. “[Hey. You're not lying, are you? Say. Are you lying? Because if you're lying… that might really piss me off.]”

There was no translation needed for the way Kay looked and sounded. The girl squirmed and just vehemently shook her head, repeatedly swearing in french that she was telling the truth. Even Kay understood that and dropped her. _This isn't as fun as I imagined._ _I guess being evil isn't my thing, even as a means to an end._ “[Darling, what do we do?]”

Darjeeling was much less merciful than Kay was. She didn't engage in empty threats and vile behavior, but she had no mercy for the enemy. “[They attacked Maginot before formalization of our treaty in writing but after the vocal agreement of all three commanding officers. They operated in pure self-interest and with malicious intent.]” Darjeeling looked at the prisoner the same way she would have looked at a june bug or a poison ivy – like she was a _thing_ and not a person. “[Round up everyone we managed to capture alive.]”

Kay didn't have a signal for that. “[That's gonna take a while.]”

“[So will organizing Maginot's forces. They will also have to check if anything went missing.]” Darjeeling really wished she could have some tea right about now. She was getting even more grouchy than before.

Kay gave the order and the BC Freedom soldier was handed over to Maginot, who pushed, shoved and finally tied up the prisoner, quite pissed that one of their own countrymen had betrayed them like this.

“[I thought you were going to shoot her right on the spot.]” Kay was left alone with Darjeeling while the area was searched thoroughly. Saunders had sustained two wounded, both lightly, while Gloriana had one wounded, moderately. Both had been patched up by the accompanying medic of each army.

“[You thought correctly. But I believe that we can extract valuable information from them under the threat of violence and psychological torture. Evading the constrains of the rules is a sufficiently frightening motivator for the captives to lend credibility to our threat.]”

“[Scary. No, seriously, that's scary.]”

“[War is not pretty. You yourself threatened a captive enemy combatant minutes ago.]”

“[But that was just a threat. You know I wouldn't do that.]”

“[Do you think I would? The great United Kingdom would not approve of measures like that. We do not live in 1943. And more important, we are not the Axis. Threats are a valid means of coercing information from the enemy.]”

“[This is getting further and further away from being about fair play.]”

“[Does it bother you that much?]”

“[Kinda. I know you're right. Logically thinking, we need information and stuff and threatening people is just how war works. I mean, other people would probably follow through on some of those threats, too. But yeah, it just doesn't sit right with me, you know.]”

Darjeeling looked up, at where the sky would be if the fog was not in the way, and sighed. “[This is not something that I would define firmly as _fun_. But I want to win. I want to prove to everyone that Gloriana is a strong and wonderful school.]”

“[Everyone thinks that way. Same here for example. I do think it is a bit fun when we're fighting. In tanks, on foot. The stuff with prisoners of war and such is a bit unpleasant though.]”

“[I think that's designed to be that way. Fighting for supplies, for information. Making alliances, betraying others. The gears of war don't know mercy or entertainment.]”

“[Well, we'll get used to it. And there is still regular tankery running year round.]”

“[It's a pity we will never meet at the high school nationals again.]”

“[I could repeat a year!]”

“[Kay.]”

“[You could also-]”

“[ **Absolutely not**.]”

“[But-]”

“[Kay, if you insist on trying to sell that idea to me, I will write _Idiot_ on your face in waterproof permanent maker. **Pink** permanent maker.]”

“[Ow… and I thought I was being nefarious with that captive.]”

“[I'm impressed you know what nefarious means.]”

“[Don't underestimate my English wielding powers!]”

“[The language is one thing I do enjoy about this.]”

“[Really? How so?]”

“[If I ever visit the United Kingdom, beautiful England, I will-]”

“[Okay, that's exactly what I thought. I mean, I like being able to speak English for the same reason. I probably wouldn't have learned it, ever, if not for the rules in this.]”

“[You did occasionally use English words before.]”

“[Yeah, but nothing like this! I can, we're talking! Commanding armies! I bet I could even flirt in English.]” Kay felt a brief chill.

“[And who is it that you would want to flirt with? Beautiful American girls?]”

“[Jealousy doesn't suit you Darling. You totally know I meant you.]”

“[I am definitely not jealous of anyone.]”

“[Really?]”

Darjeeling felt ashamed of herself. “[I did feel jealous when I thought of you flirting with someone else.]”

“[You're cute when you're honest.]”

“[Do not call the general commander of the British forces cute.]”

“[I guess I won't.]” Kay smirked. “[You're not cute then.]”

“[That… doesn't sit well with me either.]”

“[Can't have your cake **and** eat it.]”

Darjeeling focused her mind on something else and walked over to where Fondue was organizing Maginot. The girl was very good at paperwork and Eclair's right hand, but she was not a real leader.

Kay watched her girlfriend and the Maginot girl converse in relatively indifference. “[Darjeeling, I am going to see how the rounding up of the survivors is going.]” Kay received a raised hand wave in response and walked off. The fog was still terrible but slowly getting less thick. It was around noon already and Kay thought that the fog would last until the night, possibly the next morning even.

There were no other survivors – just the one. The others had either fled or were shot dead. And there were a lot of them. It were primarily the Saunder's soldiers that dragged the corpses down the hill, lining them up to identify, count and take whatever weapons and ammunition they still carried. Looting the dead was not an honorable thing to do but Kay turned a blind eye to it – they were almost certainly doing it on Alisa's orders and it was true that there was no having too much ammunition.

Kay watched the Maginot soldiers turn their tanks around and reorganize. Three tanks side by side, in a straight line. It was a secure formation for transportation but the middle tank was left without offensive. The heavy tanks, the few they possessed, were all connected to the light tanks, ensuring that it would not get stuck in bad terrain. _They need a lesson or two in tactics. Although I guess they're doing pretty well, considering that we had them pack their things in this fog and drive over here._

=== Tea and Cola ===

It was the middle of the day already but she had still just gotten out of bed. Standing in front of a mirror, she tried to fix her hair. _She made such a mess of it. What is it with that woman and her tendency to sink her claws into my hair?_ Her clothes were quite a bit of a mess as well, crumbled all over because they had been taken off in a hurry and without much care.

Two slender arms reached over her shoulders, falling over her breasts, not grabbing or holding anything. A familiar face was right there on her shoulder as well. “You frown too much.”

“This is my normal face.” She didn't even attempt to shake off the other woman. Normally, she was an unstoppable force, but this woman was her unmovable object.

“You are still a terrible liar. You have always been.” Pushing against the stoic woman from behind, she, the unmovable object, was still wearing but the blanket from the bed that now slid away when she reached for the first woman's hair.. “You're only honest in bed.”

“This was a mistake.” Her hair steadfastly refused to be fixed by herself but was molded easily by her companion, who had fixed her bed hair in mere moments. Seeing the smiling face of the woman in the mirror, standing behind her, her hands bringing wild and obstinate strands of hair back into the mold, she felt the same thing she always felt when she let her guard down around her; even if just for a moment. “This won't happen again.”

“You said that the last time, too. It's because you're this stubborn that we're in this situation in the first place, Shiporin.”

“I told you not to call me that!” Emotions were stirred every time her nickname from old times was used. Emotions she had fought so hard to bury.

And finally, the woman let go of her, taking a few steps backward and sitting on the edge of the bed with perfect precision, her naked body visible at the border of the mirror. She didn't even attempt to cover herself – no matter where the woman with her beautiful long dark brown hair would look, there was not a spot she didn't know or hadn't touched before.”I want us to be back together, Shiho.” The lack of using her pet name meant to show that she was serious.

“It's a little late for that.” Shiho was back to her normal self, stoic and yet intense expression included. “I'm married. You were married. And to begin with, it was you who left me for a man with little to no explanation.”

“Did you ever stop to think about why I did that?” Chiyo got back off the bed and picked up her underwear – or rather, someone's underwear. The bra and panties looked similar but were not hers. _Even_ _after nearly_ _years… she's still doing that_.

“No. You left me, and that was it. That was the end of our friendship and relationship.” Shiho walked away from the bed and headed for the door, not even granting Chiyo another look at her face.

“What do you think would have happened if we stayed together?”

“I am done talking about this.” Reaching for the door handle, Shiho tried to leave but the door didn't budge. “You locked me in?”

“I knew you would try to run out on me if I tried to explain myself.”

“Unlock the door.”

“After you listen to me.”

“Talk.” Shiho knew she was not going to get anywhere by demanding Chiyo hand over the key. That woman was as obstinate, if not more so, than she was herself. Turning around, leaning against the door, Shiho was ready to listen. Even though she could guess what words were going to come out of Chiyo's mouth.

“We're the heiresses of a long tradition. We had a duty to produce an heir ourselves. Both you and me.” Chiyo didn't sound like her usual calm self or the cheerful variation she showed when she was playing – teasing – Shiho alone. No, she sounded melancholic. Like she was speaking of a deep regret. “You are so stubborn, you would have insisted we could just find a way. That we could have children while seeing each other. But our traditions have been in opposition for a long time. It would have diluted if not corrupted both of them if we tried to be together.”

“Get to the point.”

“I broke up with you like that because I knew you would never agree we go our separate ways if I talked things through with you. We had to retain the purity of our traditions. We had to have children. Teach them about our way of tankery.”

“We could have seen each other in secret.”

“That is exactly why I broke up with you. It never works out like that.”

“And now you want to be together again?”

“Your daughters are sixteen and eighteen. Maho will be going to college soon. We fulfilled our obligations.”

_I know all of that. I am not stupid. Do you really think I couldn't see that look of sadness in your eyes whenever we met? When we saw how far apart we had grown. Those days with you, going to school, practicing tankery together… loving you. Those are still the happiest days of my life._ “So what?”

“I'm sorry, Shiho.”

Hearing an actual apology from her caught the Nishizumi off guard. “Being sorry does not change anything.”

“I'm not the first in my family to simply marry for convenience and reasons of continuing our blood line. I still love you. Even after all this time.”

_I hated you so much. You told me that we have to talk, the day before graduation. I thought you wanted to take my offer of joining the same tankery team in the professional league. That we could be together for a long time. But instead you told me… that there was someone else. A man. That you were finished exploring a relationship with another woman. That we should go our separate ways. You didn't even say you were sorry back then. I spent the entire day and night hating you. Clenching my fists until my knuckles were white. I was so full of hate that not a single tear would come out. I felt so betrayed by you. You were always the one that told me how much you love me, how you were never so happy as when we were together. And then you broke me. I wanted to hear you explain yourself with your own words… to confirm what I knew all along. To have certainty._ Shiho's expression was a sad one.

_Weeks after we graduated… after I hadn't seen you even once, I figured it all out. You were getting married without warning. I saw the photos. You were wearing that big, fake smile of yours that you showed the old people when you wanted them to think you were happy. It was easy to put two and two together. Your getting married to a man when you had no interest in boys whatsoever when we were in school. That the reality that was closing in on me was also closing in on you. My mother, telling me that the Nishizumi style had to be carried on by me and the daughter I would have eventually. The same must have been happening to you. Or maybe you anticipated it happening and that is why you destroyed the precious thing we had. Something inside me died when I realized all of that. With all the hatred that had nowhere to go… the happy moments in my past that just reminded me of what I couldn't have. I threw everything I had into tankery. I picked a man that would be gone most of the time so I had less to remind me of you. I had one daughter and then another, hoping that one of them would be spared the cruelty I had endured. But when the time came and one of them did set out on her own… all the buried hatred rose to the top and I couldn't help but direct it at her. I was never a loving mother. I was never a good wife. Because if I tried, I would think of what could have been. What it would be like to have you by my side instead of having a man attached to my family that was no more than a means to an end._

“I still cannot read minds, Shiporin.” While her ex-girlfriend had spent minutes looking at the floor in a distant way, Chiyo had gotten dressed. “I did what I did because I thought that life might break us otherwise. I couldn't live with the thought of being the reason the Shimada style and the Nishizumi style died out or ended up being influenced by each other. I am sorry, but I am not asking you for forgiveness. I want us to be together again. You're still beautiful, strong and driven… the same girl that I fell for when we were fourteen.”

_I want to ask 'why couldn't we have children and still see each other', but I know the answer. We both had to teach our tradition to our children. Even when we were in school, we were in constant disagreement about whose style was superior and right. If we saw each other and our children, we would no doubt have tried to influence then. That is how strongly we believe in our way of tankery. You wanted to avoid that. Still… you could have at least told me so. You could have told me why you are breaking up for me. I'm sure you must have hurt too_.

“Shiporin! Talk!” Chiyo's patience was running out. She could clearly see that Shiho was thinking about a lot of things. Her usually unchanging expression was a wild mix of things she hadn't seen on her face in years.

“You should have told me all of this before. When we were about to graduate. Do you really think I wouldn't have understood?”

“I didn't tell you not because you wouldn't understand but because I know you. Even with all of this, I know you would have looked for a way to see me, to be with me. Fifteen to eighteen years of that? There is no way we could have handled that without our daughters being influenced by it. But they are finding their own way now.”

“It's too la-”

“No. If you would just stop being stubborn for one moment...” Chiyo slowly walked towards her old rival and former partner. “I don't want to spend the rest of my life having you hate me or see me as nothing but a rival.”

They both looked at each other in silence for a long time. Every few seconds, Shiho's lips trembled, ready to turn Chiyo away because of foolish pride and lingering heartbreak. Time did not heal all wounds – some were forever. But each time she stopped herself. The previous night had been the first time in years that she had felt like a woman, a flesh and blood living thing – not a tankery machine that lived only for the sport. And finally, one emotion won out over others. **Pride**. “I won't-” From the hallway, a loud thud could be heard and the door budged a little bit.

Forcing the obstinate woman before her against the door, Chiyo kissed her, with years over years of emotions behind it. A strong and intense kiss; almost unhinged for a woman usually so composed and collected as Chiyo Shimada. While words could be deflected, could be rationalized away, the woman she still loved could not reject her like this. Desire, longing for Chiyo, won out over pride and Shiho immediately put the brunette in her arms, holding her close. When their kiss stopped, for lack of breath or just to look at each other, it never did so for long. Minutes passed, their clothes were crumbled from holding each other and their faces were flushed with excitement.

“I never let anyone else touch me lips,” Chiyo said so with a spark in her eyes.

“This doesn't change anything.”

“You're not very convincing, saying that while holding me like this.”

And so, Shiho pushed Chiyo away. “I listened. Now unlock the door.”

It was not entirely unexpected for Chiyo to face a reaction like that. _Her stubbornness was always unrivaled, even among the adults. I guess it was too little too late…_ Taking the key from inside an ash tray right by the entrance, right within Shiho's reach, Chiyo put it into the woman's hand. “There.”

Shiho didn't hesitate at all to unlock the door. But what happened next came as a surprise to the other woman. Instead of leaving, Shiho put the keys back into the ash tray and walked into the room. “My attire is a mess. I can't possibly leave like this. And you need to fix your hair. I am not going to be seen associating with a Shimada that believes walking around in public with bed hair is acceptable.”

“Associating?”

“You have to make up more than eighteen years of solitude to me.” _I am who I am, and she knows this. Wanting to be with me despite all that… this sensation, I haven't felt it in so long._ “I will make an exception and accept all of the birthday presents you missed on giving me at once in the form of that Tiger I that has been for sale for a while now.”

“That's a lot more money than just eighteen birthday presents! I'm not that rich, Shporin!” Her composure was fleeing in the face of an adversary she hadn't faced in years; her girlfriend. Shiho had never been a person that would come out and say _I forgive you_ or _I will be your girlfriend again_. But Chiyo knew this.

“I have a meeting with newly created General Global Promotions Commission later today. They have invited some of the most important names in tankery to a lunch to discuss the future of tankery globally and specifically further promotions regarding the professional league. The salary of professional tankery athletes is one of the topics that will be discussed.”

“They did not invite me. That is quite the treatment.”

“You will make an appearance regardless. As much as I dislike the practices of your cowardly Shimada style, it will create a biased impression if only one of us joins the meeting.” _And I want you there. I want you to be around me as much as possible, so I don't change my mind. I still feel like I am betraying all the hardship I endured in the last eighteen years. But between those years and my future, I need to focus on my future_. “The main point I want to push to the commission is that much like professional athletes of globally popular sports, our professional league players need to be able to make a living that doesn't border on the poverty line.” Trying to fix her hair, **again** , Shiho's right eye twitched when she couldn't get it right. “Chiyo-kichi, fix that mess you made!”

“Yes, yes.” Approaching Shiho from behind, Chiyo managed to calm the wild strands of hair. “Eighteen years and you still cannot do this by yourself.”

“You are one to talk. Eighteen years and you still claw my hair like you are some sort of cat.”

=== Tea and Cola ===

Her right arm reaching around Darjeeling; her hand covering her mouth, the Brits' hot breath brushing against her palm – her other hand between Darjeeling's legs, the girl thrusting her hips against the American's hand, her fingers. To her side, the left arm of the girl in front of her reaching backwards, turned, doing to her the same she did to her.

Their uniforms tossed on the ground, skirt and shorts lightly displaced, the panties pushed aside. Their heads and minds were hot with lust, passion and a sense of danger. Kay couldn't keep her mouth shut and was biting into Darjeeling's shoulder – and because a lady would not bite, she covered her lover's mouth so all the people around and above them would hear.

Lewd, wet sounds; muffled rapid breathing; the two bodies rubbing and shoving each other – Darjeeling was first to give out, drooling a little on Kay's right hand and covering the left in even more of her bodily liquids. Kay was left unsatisfied, even more so because she was so very close to coming herself. “Darling… come on...” 

Darjeeling's vision was mostly black and she couldn't even sit straight up anymore. Leaning back against Kay, feeling her bountiful breasts pushed tight against her back, the Brit waited just long enough for Kay to start whining before she flung around and pushed the girl on the metal floor, pulling the shorts down and getting on all fours herself.

Kay had tried to mentally prepare for the sensation of her lover's tongue down there but it was beyond anything she had expected. Gasping, throwing her head back against the metal, Kay let out a moan so intense that they had to have been discovered by whoever was near by. Spurred on by the danger of immediate discovery, Darjeeling doubled and tripled her efforts, using her fingers and tongue at the same time, sending Kay into an overdrive of pleasure.

Covering her own mouth, Kay bit into her index finger, still moaning through it. And when she came, her lights went out from over-stimulation. Darjeeling, her lips and her entire face wet as if she had held her head into a bucket of water, looked up, a little woozy herself. “Kay?” She didn't get an answer. “Kay?”

Climbing on top of the unmoving girl, Darjeeling did so not without adjusting her skirt. “Kay. Wake up.” _What do I do? I cannot believe she would pass on from pleasure. I would take any praise happily, but are you not exaggerating?_ “Kay, cease this behavior this instant.” And when Kay didn't obey that order, Darjeeling bent down and tried the next best thing – kissing her awake.

And that still did not do the trick, not immediately anyway. Darjeeling intensified her efforts until she felt Kay return them. With a strange mixed taste on her lips, Darjeeling rose up in a hurry. “Get dressed, now. If we are caught like this, on duty, we shall be the laughingstock of the tankery high school division, not just within our schools.” Crawling off of Kay and grabbing her uniform, Darjeeling got dressed as quickly as she could. _It's still running down my legs. I really have to shower later. But still… what to do about that?_

Kay, despite her trained body, was a little wobbly on her legs. She could stand no problem but putting on the trousers of her second uniform was a bit of a hassle. “I feel a lot better now.”

“So much that you tried to have some beauty sleep on your own.”

“Well, **you** don't need any beauty sleep. Any more beauty than all of that-” Kay gestured wildly in Darjeeling's general direction. “And I'll have to compete with A-list actresses and voice actors. Forget tankery, you'll get scouted as a model.”

“Kay, how many times do you think that line has been used to hit on girls?” Darjeeling smiled nonetheless at the compliment. Finishing with her uniform, putting the buttons through the holes, Darjeeling was impressed that nobody had come to get them. “Did nobody hear you shout?”

“ **Shout**?” Kay looked a bit embarrassed. “I got a loud voice but I wasn't that loud!”

“I believe they call people like you a _screamer_ , Kay.”

“If I hadn't covered for you, you'd have moaned just as loud!”

“Surely not.” Darjeeling could still feel the sensation of Kay's hand covering her mouth, one of her fingers sometimes slipping in between her lips. _I did not expect I would enjoy being held and pinned like that. How unbecoming_ _of me_.

Kay climbed up ahead of Darjeeling and took a brief and careful look. _Still foggy_. “Nobody in sight. Let's go.” Climbing out of the M4A2 Sherman, the tank Kay primarily commanded in the war, both of them quickly closed the vehicle up again. “See you later.” Kay rushed in a kiss as goodbye and then jumped down the tank only to topple over and crash to the ground.

Darjeeling waited thirty seconds before she got off the tank on the other side, slowly descending and normally walking back towards operations. Assam and Rosehip were there, arguing so loudly that Darjeeling could hear thirty seconds before she could see them.

“[I am telling you that's unreliable!]” Rosehip's shouted straight in Assam's face.

“[With **your** memory, perhaps. I do not forget so easily!]” Assam shouted back just as strongly. The usually calm, composed and ever quiet Assam was known as the storm back at Gloriana. Because once she hit her breaking point, you were in for a disaster.

“[You're talking about remembering sentences from a language you **don't speak**! In the middle of the rain! During an infiltration!]”

“[Will you two mind yourselves already? Half of the base can hear you.]” Darjeeling put a stop to the argument. Or so she thought.

“[Commander, Assam insists we translate and act on the supposed information she picked up during-]”

“[During what? Are you insinuating that there was some kind of unsanctioned operation, conducted without my approval?]” Both Assam and Rosehip looked at Darjeeling like she was from another planet. “[Assam, have you thought about how you would explain to our defensive attache where exactly we obtained the information we are bound to share with them eventually?]” She then turned to Rosehip. “[Assam has memorization that exceeds my own and that of any in our school. You of all people are bound to know this because it is her who had to teach you the regulations again and again, and she did so from memory alone.]”

_I forgot about that._ “[It is still another language.]”

“[So was English when we all began and she was able to memorize sequences that did not make sense to her at the time. And still, there is no information to act on here. There was no operation where you two could have obtained information.]” Darjeeling shut both of them down in an instant.

Assam in particular felt disappointed – not by her commander but her own lack of foresight. _I did not think at all about how we would explain the source of this information. Lying to our allies is a dangerous path that will lead to potential backstabbing later. We already lied to them once to make them our allies. But the commander is right. If we came up with conveniently related information… Maginot would immediately conclude that it **was** us who instigated the supposed attack and essentially forced them to join us for protection_.

Darjeeling shooed both of them out of operations and then instructed someone to find that – bloody, as she called her – french commander, Eclair and bring her to operations. She also sent someone else to find her worse half, Kay, and reign her in at whatever she was doing. She was a commander and had an obligation to suffer through the same horrible french-accent English as Darjeeling.

Rosehip and Assam walked side by side for a while, until they came across the captive french soldier that Kay had _pressured_ into working for them, for free. It was either that or get doused with a bucket of cold water every hour and sit outside on the ground. Kay didn't enjoy being violent with her prisoners, but she was definitely not above threatening them.

“[Assam.]” Rosehip broke the silence first.

“[I cannot believe you would forget about my excellent memory. After the many hours I spent teaching you the regulations and rules of St. Gloriana.]”

“[That was **before**. I only remember how much I got shouted at for getting the rules mixed up.]”

“[And still you don't follow too many of them.]”

“[Excuse me for not being the obedient, rule memorizing rich lady type.]”

Assam saw immediately that this was a sore point for her girlfriend. “[Sorry.]”

“[It's fine. I did forget that you were the one teaching me and all.]”

“[To think I could have such a weak presence...]”

“[I didn't really think about wanting to get into anyone's skirt back then! Otherwise I'd probably remember.]”

“[After I practically captured you to make you my girlfriend, I doubt that very much.]”

“[It's not like I resisted or anything…]”

“[Perhaps a little resistance might be interesting.]” Assam slapped Rosehip's butt as they walked. “[I did enjoy chasing you. Albeit it is even more fun to have caught you already.]”

“[You're less of a lady than I am when you talk like that.]” _You can slap my butt again if you want, though._

“[Come to think of it… the commander's hair was a fine mess. What do you think happened?]”

“[She's dating Kay.]”

“[That doesn't seem like a sufficient reason.]”

“[Maybe those two sneaked off and had wild sex while on duty.]”

The two Brits looked at each other for a dozen steps before Assam sprung an uncontrolled giggle and Rosehip burst into laughter. They both thought the same thing precisely; _There is no way that could happen_. They carried on for a few more steps before they came to a full stop, right by a stack of wooden crates.

“[You wanna try it?]” Rosehip looked quite hopeful and Assam didn't immediately shoot her down.

“[To suggest something like that… you really lack any refinement whatsoever.]”

“[You didn't say no.]”

“[An improper request like that… as the lady in our relationship, I must correct your attitude.]” With a snapping sound, Assam grabbed her girlfriend by her wrist and pulled her with her. “[To suggest breaking the rules like that. In the most improper way possible. I feel responsible for seeing to it that you behave according to the high standards St. Gloriana sets.]” Both of them vanished into a store tent that was full of munition crates. Pushing the walls of the tent, Assam dragged Rosehip behind the crates, at the far back of the tent, barely enough space for both of them. “You're going to listen to everything I am going to telling you for the next-”

“No.” Rosehip wore a defiant smirk and an outrageously arrogant expression to go with it. “You thought you could teach me about rules? By dragging me somewhere isolated where nobody will come to your help?” Raising her right leg, Rosehip forced her thigh between the legs of the blonde, moving it back and forth. Assam had nowhere to escape. Rosehip slammed her hands against the crates, the boxes shaking dangerously, right to the left and right of Assam's face. “You maneuvered yourself into this.”

Things took a turn for the worse – for Rosehip that was – right after. Assam didn't hesitate to slid her right hand right into Rose's pants and from there, under her skirt. It was strange to begin with, wearing a skirt under the somewhat baggy pants. But actually feeling it with her hand was even stranger. And because she wasn't aggressive enough, she grabbed Rosehip by her cheeks, index and thumb burying lightly into the softness of her face, pulling her in so close that she felt the redhead's body against her arm. “ **I'm** the one that won't get help? That's hilarious.”

“S-Stop, I'm the wild one and you're-”

“Oh, what's that? Did this hot little thing just talk back to me?” Assam squeezed her hand a little tighter and Rosehip winced a little. Her other hand got busy as well, rubbing over the plain panties that Rosehip wore, feeling a familiar dampness arise from them moments later. “My, I can't believe you would feel turned on by being lectured. And I haven't even started the lecture yet.”

“Stop.” Rosehip exerted her full physical strength and made Assam back off. “Playing around is fine, but this is too much sadist behavior for me.”

“Did I play it up too much?” Assam looked genuinely troubled. “I apologize.”

“Squeezing my face was a bit much.”

“You do have a beautiful face and it is kind of a shame to ruin it like that.”

“We're already here, so...”

“The mood is kind of destroyed.” Assam felt troubled that she had been the cause of that. She wasn't sadistic, she just liked exploring new avenues for herself.

“Nothing we can't fix.” Moving back together, Rosehip pushed Assam a little strongly against the crates, who shook dangerously yet again. “You know, I do remember one lecture from you.”

Assam put her arms around Rosehip this time, letting her lead. “Just one?”

“Not because of the lecture itself though. We played Tennis and you were bouncing all over the place. That's why I remember. I also remember thinking about that in the bath that evening.”

“You masturbated to thoughts of me? How dirty.”

“I didn't say that!”

“But you did it.”

“I bet you did it plenty of times while thinking of me.”

“One of my favorite scenes to recall is...” Assam whispered something to Rosehip and the girl's face quickly turned to the color of her hair.

“ **That's a crime**!”

“And who is going to report me now?”

“Y-You sadist!”

“I am not hurting anyone.”

“You're not allowed to **ever** tell anyone about that!”

“I might have to be bribed.”

“You're corrupt! Double corrupt!”

“A proper aristocrat then.”

Rosehip froze. “Was… was all of that just to set up that stupid gag?”

“My! It is most definitely not stupid!”

“I am not sure the mood is gonna recover from thi- ah!” Rosehip broke sentence at the end because Assam groped her butt. “You really have a thing for my butt, don't you?”

“More so your hips, my dear Rose.” Assam sparkled with anticipation but Rosehip just stared at her blankly and slowly stepped back.

“I'm done. You could strip right here on the spot and I could get horny after hearing that lamest of all puns.” 

“Ah, I'm sorry! It's a habit!” _And I thought that was really clever, too…_

Both of them flinched when a really loud voice carried all the way to the tent. **“[Tu ne peux pas être sérieux, Commandant Darjeeling!]”**

=== Panzer Halt ===


	6. Chapter 6

Two soldiers hid behind the corner of a pile of crates that were empty, maybe a dozen meters away from operations. One of them was a redhead, the other a blonde – the redhead in front, almost kneeling, while the blonde stood tall and looked over her partner's head. Their spying was still being obstructed by the fog, which was gradually lessening but still too thick now to see more than silhouettes in operations. But voices were heard clearly.

“[What are they talking about?]” Rosehip was itching to walk into the tent and ask her commander herself but she knew she'd be chewed out like hell. “[Assam, what are they talking about?!]”

“[I don't speak French. I only know how to kiss that way.]” Assam was still hung up on Rosehip walking out on her all because of a little, harmless pun she made. It was her own fault, but that only made her feel worse; it wasn't often that one of her plans backfired like that.

“[ **C'est** **inacceptable**!]” The voice of Maginot's commander reached way past Rosehip and Assam. “[Comment pourriez-vous penser-]” The French commander was talked over by an even louder voice now.

“[What were you **imagining** was going to happen? That you would be seated at the table with us and we all play _one third of a vote_ on what to do next?]” Kay's voice boomed through the immediate surroundings and was followed by Darjeeling, Eclair and then Kay again all talking over each other.

“[This doesn't sound good.]” Assam knew her commander to be composed, cool, even a little devoid of excitement when necessary. To hear her raising her voice like that, half in French, half in English, was a bit troubling. But on the other hand, it put Assam at peace. Even commander Darjeeling wasn't infallible and could get loud.

There was a loud slam – someone's hand hit the table. “[If they start brawling… who do you think is gonna win?]”

“[Sauders. Lady Darjeeling's greatness does not lie with her physical prowess.]”

“[I think Maginot might fight dirty. She kinda gives off that image, right? Like she'd do anything to win a fight.]” Rosehip looked straight up, at the bottom of Assam's face. “[Probably in bed, too.]”

“[You have a dirty mind, Rose.]” Assam looked down. _I wish we were not standing here but still in that tent… and her face a whole lot closer to mine_. “[It's… quiet all of a sudden.]”

Rosehip looked back ahead and noticed that too. “[They're still there, right?]”

“[They probably-]”

“[ **C'est tout! J'ai fini!** ]” Another loud slam and seconds after, a french commander with her anger at boiling point stormed out of the tent and right past Rosehip and Assam who posed as regular soldiers standing guard.

Back inside operations, Darjeeling picked up an iron cup that had flown off after Eclair had hit the table. “[That did not go as well as I had hoped. But it was better than what I expected, given the circumstances.]” Lifting herself on top of the table and sitting there, Darjeeling rubbed her temples. “[I did not expect I would have to be politician in addition to commander.]”

Kay was less composed than Darjeeling, angrily pouting next to the table with her arms crossed below her breasts. “[I cannot believe the gall of her. They have their backs towards the wall and they don't have the strength we have to fight their way out. And she still makes demands as if she did have all those things! And **holy shit** the way she looks at you! Like a cat looks at a dog. I wanted to punch her in the face!]”

“[Please do not do that. I feel happy that you would act as my knight, defending the honor of the lady you pledged your loyalty to.]” Darjeeling had a smile drawn on her face by Kay's anger. “[I expected some of her demands, but not all of them. Maginot is a proud school and to work with us, particularly St. Gloriana, must be difficult for them.]”

“[What is their problem? Your army is full of beautiful girls and you are the most beautiful and talented commander in the entire war.]”

Darjeeling smiled even wider. “[When did you learn to be so flattering?]”

“[Gotta evolve to stay relevant.]” Kay's angry expression finally softened. “[What are we gonna do? She stormed out without us getting anywhere.]”

“[She'll come back. She won't apologize, and neither will we. But we will compromise and so will she.]” Darjeeling waved Kay closer and closer, until she could put her arms around her Kay's waist – the Brit still sitting on the edge of the table. “[We need to make sure they understand that it is a giant leap for us to trust them with our security, our _home_ , our injured and maintenance personnel. They are our last line of defense. We need them to protect us while we attack the threats that come after us. And accepting them into your midst also increases the number of threats-]”

“[You don't have to sell it to **me** , Darling.]” Putting her palms down on the table, Kay pushed a quick kiss on her girlfriend's lips. “[You are sexy when you get loud by the way.]”

“[Don't get used to it.]” A sigh escaped Darjeeling and she rested her head against Kay's chest. “[I hope the fog clears up quickly so we can do what we trained to do – fight in our tanks.]”

“[Being commander and politician is not really what we signed up for, right? I miss the rattling, heat and palatable tenacity of being in a tank.]”

“[Honestly, it is… not a bad experience. But we haven't had a proper tankery battle in so long that it is wearing on me.]” Darjeeling put her arms around Kay and closed her eyes. “[If not for you, I would be utterly miserable. I would **have** been utterly miserable ever since that night.]”

“[If I had to go through this all on my own I probably would have fucked up really hard somewhere.]”

“[Are you saying I keep you under control?]” Darjeeling smiled again.

“[You're the classical music that keeps this bull peaceful and from going on a rampage.]” Kay tried her absolute best to make a fitting analogy but it didn't quite come out right.

Someone cleared their throat, once, then after the two commanders didn't stop hugging, a second time and finally, Kay stepped away and Darjeeling slid off the table. They didn't hide that they were together at all because there was no reason to. “[What is it?]” Darjeeling looked still grouchy.

“[We caught a messenger of undeclared nationality at the edge of our base. She claims to have information we would be interested in... purchasing.]” The messenger girl just shrugged. “[Those are her words.]”

“[One thing after another.]” Kay was not ready for any more negotiating at this point. “[Darling, do you need me there with you?]”

“[Yes.]” Darjeeling didn't hide that she counted, that she depended on Kay. She wasn't just a beautiful girl that she was in love with – she was also someone she wanted by her side as much as possible. Kay's strong and emotion driven behavior stood in stark contrast to herself, who was aiming for logic and rational behavior. They balanced each other out. “[You just have to be there.]” 

“[One day you'll be a real politician.]” Kay felt a little proud that such an intelligent and clever woman was her girlfriend. “[Let's go and see what information that unknown has.]”

Their guest was completely impossible to identify. Secondary uniform, weapon, beret, primary uniform, nothing matched. Her English fluctuated between a German, Russian and Italian one all the time, even mid-sentence. She took great care to hide her origin. One of Darjeeling's girls informed the two commanders of all of that. They had thoroughly frisked the soldier but found nothing worthwhile on her. Only one FN FNC, an assault rifle of Belgium make. “[I see the people in charge have finally arrived.]”

She sat on the ground, short brown hair, in the mixed bag of a uniform, unimpressed by the two guards pointing guns at her. “[Do you want me to make my sales pitch out here? I'm fine with that, really, but are you? I thought the British were hospitable people.]”

Darjeeling had not even gotten a single word in just yet. She squeezed Kay's hand while nobody paid attention and then looked as grim as death herself. “[Shoot her.]” Darjeeling gave the order without hesitation and the imminent terror was written on the _guests_ face in an instant.

“[Woah, woah, stop.]” Kay stepped in, knowing that it was all calculated by her darling.

The guards were confused on who to listen to. Darjeeling was **their** commander but Kay shared command with her and they didn't feel comfortable shooting an unarmed girl in cold blood.

Darjeeling faked disappointment and raised her right hand. “[Hold. Let's hear what she has to say. Get her to my tent.]”

“[Commander, without a guard-]”

Darjeeling smiled coldly. “[I have Kay with me. Does this girl look like she could overpower the commander of Saunders in hand-to-hand combat and then escape from a heavily armed compound?]”

“[No ma'am.]” The soldier looked at Darjeeling like she was standing on a pedestal.

A few minutes later, Kay, Darjeeling and the mystery unknown girl were facing off in Darjeeling's tent. “[Let us hear it then.]” The guest was in the back of the tent, sitting on a crate that was stuffed with documents. Kay stood between Darjeeling and the mystery girl, by the bed, while Darjeeling was by the entrance, her hands on her hips.

“[Information.]” The mystery girl with her short brown hair raised her left index finger next to her face. “[The names of annihilated armies. Locations of enemies. Combat records. Casualties, equipment and vehicle losses of still roaming armies. Guard schedules. Things your intelligence girls can only dream of.]”

“[And you have information like that how?]” Darjeeling was skeptical at best.

“[A trade secret. But this will be easy on you. We take payment in good faith only. If you find the information worthless or not worth your time, or you simply decide to be dishonorable marauders-]”

“[Careful.]” Kay didn't like the tone of that girl.

“[Point is, I will tell you **how** to pay but whether you pay or not depends on your satisfaction.]” The girl looked every bit as confident as one would needed to be, pushing such an offer to two of the most powerful people in their small world. “[And if you decide to engage in business with us, a follow up deal might become available to you.]”

Darjeeling looked at Kay and their eyes met. They didn't need to say anything to communicate what they were thinking. _Suspicious. But too valuable to disregard._ “[How detailed is your information?]” Darjeeling wanted details first.

“[Coordinates, timestamps, counts of combatants and vehicles. I can think of little that won't be there. However, we do have two different offers.]”

_She keeps saying **we.** Which school is running this scheme? I didn't expect there would be an army like this._ Darjeeling tried to pin down the girl's origin by staring at her. _It feels like she was specifically chosen because I haven't seen her face before. Whoever is behind this didn't train for a war on the ground but a war on the people_. “[Two offers?]”

“[One is the entire package. Almost everything we know. The other is specialized for you, by us. It comes at the same cost but the specialized package contains an additional hot tip that was omitted from the full package for reasons of lucrativeness.]”

“[Blatant exploitation.]” Kay was still not happy with the tone that girl was using.

“[What form will payment take?]”

“[Hm, I really am not supposed to tell you about that up front.]”

_Bullshit,_ Kay thought. _If you're bringing that argument, you just want us to convince you._ Kay was not a diplomat but she had seen enough American movies to know a line from a movie when she heard one.

“[Just tell us. I am- We are not playing diplomatic games with you.]” Darjeeling tried to sound as threatening as possible and the girl did react in an intimidated way, crossing her arms in front of her stomach. _Giving the order to have her shot without hearing her out was the right decision. She is still afraid that she won't be able to leave_.

“[Destroy Sweden.]” The line was delivered with the same force as an ultimatum. “[That is what we ask for. Sweden. Viggen. Their information is included in both packages. Payment will be due after confirmation of your package's contents but within 48 hours of receiving it.]” And now she was visibly sweating. “[You should… I mean… this is a good offer.]” Her confidence was waning because that Darjeeling woman was just staring at her like she was a delicious mouse in front of a hungry cobra. “[Please don't kill me.]”

_I can use thi-_ Darjeeling felt terrible on the inside when she realized what the situation was making her become. “[How is the information delivered?]”

“[I will give you coordinates for the package. And leave. You… will let me leave, right?]”

Darjeeling sharply inhaled and took her tine slowly exhaling before she took two steps to the side and pulled a handgun, a Glock 17, and did what ever actor would do; pointing the gun at the guest, she made her sweat. Then she ejected the magazine, caught it with her other hand, checked the number of shots left and threw the empty gun to the mystery girl. “[One of my guards will give you the magazine when you leave the base. After all, it is dangerous out there.]” Darjeeling glanced at Kay and she hid her left hand behind her own back because her hand was shaking. She was really forcing herself to be cold and dreadful and she needed to stop.

Kay saw that too and took over. “[Guards!]” Within the second, two armed soldiers opened up the tent's entrance and looked inside. “[Find me Naomi. Have her escort our guest to the border of the base.]” Kay stepped away from the bed and took the magazine from Darjeeling. “[Hand this to her when she leaves.]”

Kay then looked to the mystery girl. “[Give the coordinates to a tall girl with short brown hair and a stone face.]” She then turned back to the guards. “[Escort her out.]”

The girl carefully stepped around Kay and Darjeeling, letting the guards take her into custody. Her heart was pumping hard. _This is different from what Anzai said she'd be like! That woman is a demon. I almost died **twice** in this place_.

Left alone, Darjeeling inhaled deeply and then exhaled just as deeply, but much more haphazardly. “[Kay, I am glad you realized-]” Darjeeling couldn't get any further than that because Kay put her tightly in en embrace and she didn't need to say anything else.

“[You were like a James Bond villain. It gave me chills, but the good kind. You know, like when you walk out of the theater and fantasize about the villain.]”

“[I strongly prefer you would think of me as the driven heroine that Agent 007 relies on in times of crisis.]” Darjeeling felt at peace, the coldness of her act melting away. “[Next time you play the villain.]”

“[I'm more the mid-boss that is all antagonistic and gets taken out.]”

“[I don't know what that means, Kay.]”

“[You are certainly my Agent 007.]” Kay kissed Darjeeling on the forehead. “[Wanna do it again?]”

“[We don't have time. We need to tie things up with Maginot before the fog lifts.]” Darjeeling didn't do anything when Kay grabbed her butt, nothing but smiled and moan lightly, playfully even. The war forced her to adapt, and so did Kay. She disliked the former but loved to discover new sides of herself with the latter. “[But tonight is another matter.]”

“[There is nobody I would rather share command with.]” Kay was happy with her lot, happier than she had been in a while. “[Seeing you take that sellout for a ride was better than seeing the dumb look on Selection University when we showed up to bail out Ooarai.]”

Darjeeling sighed, sliding her hands into Kay's pants and moving them up and down alongside her hips. “[Kay… what are we gonna do about those troublesome sisters?]”

“[The Nishizumis?]” Kay took a bold move and grabbed Darjeeling by the backside of her thighs, lifting her up all of a sudden, causing the Brit to giggle and even make a sound that others would have described as _kyaa_.

“[Kay, what are you doing?]” Giggling a little, Darjeeling was carried nowhere, just remaining carried by Kay. Dangerously close to falling off backwards, Darjeeling put her arms around her lover's neck. “[You brute~.]”

The American couldn't help but grin confidently. “[I always wanted to do this.]”

“[We should go and smooth things over with the French.]”

“[How about you give me a little lesson in French?]” Getting closer to her girlfriend's face, Kay puckered her lips.

Sharing on a brief, plain kiss with Kay, Darjeeling felt cruel. “[I am sorry Kay, but right now, this moment…]”

“[Totally worth a try.]” Kay smirked and quickly stole another kiss before she let Darjeeling back down but keeping her hands on her butt. “[I don't like that Eclair girl.]”

“[She's French. Nobody likes the French.]”

“[They do fight among themselves.]” 

“[Kay. We really should leave.]”

“[Five more minutes?]”

“[Are you the type that has trouble getting out of bed?]” Darjeeling looked a little amused.

“[If I have a beauty like you in there? Heck yeah.]” Kay wasn't shy about her feelings.

“[Flatterer.]” Darjeeling enjoyed hearing the compliments. “[But fine. Five more minutes.]” _In this cruel world, you are my oasis Kay. I look forward to the day we will be together and this war of ours has come and gone_.

=== Tea and Cola ===

Darjeeling slowly rubbed her forehead. She hadn't anticipated that the French would be so excruciatingly stubborn. Two hours had passed after they resumed negotiations and they were down to a last handful of items. “[I have told you before, we cannot in good conscience agree to let you take independent action while our forces are in combat ourselves.]”

Eclair was just as tired of the negotiations as Darjeeling was but she wanted a good deal for her girls and she didn't just want to be a pawn to those two girls. “[Combien de temps cela va-t-il durer…? Bon dieu...]” Murmuring to herself, Eclair didn't know if she could push the issue for much longer. _I really want a bath, too…_ “[Perhaps… if you are willing to transfer commande générale of the base, including troupes stationed here by you while you are away… Maginot will offer you… free use of our bathing facility?]” _Mon dieu, what am I saying?_

Kay was there as well, with a beret on her face, half passed out and half listening. “[Bathing facility?]” She took the beret off of her face. “[Does that mean something else in french?]”

That got Darjeeling's attention as well. “[What do you mean by that?]”

“[Quelle? It means what I said. Place to bathe.]” Eclair was quite exhausted. “[Do you not have such thing?]” Her French accent was really thick at this point.

Kay looked to Darjeeling and the two were in instant agreement. Beside their obviously personal stake in this, it would tremendously improve morale if it was a decent place. Darjeeling sat up. “[Explain how this _facility_ of yours functions.]”

“[Cela vous intéresse? Something so plain?]” Eclair saw a lucky break coming her way.

“[Yes.]” Darjeeling didn't beat around the bush this time either.

“[We have many soldiers who also learn crafts, like metal work. We burn wood from trees in a shallow pit until it is hot embers. Then we use two tanks to drag a large Ardoise métallique above it. A metal slate we created from scrap over the first week. The water we used to draw from a close river… now we have to go further.]”

“[Are they out there now? Procuring water?]” Darjeeling was split on the issue. On one hand, she hoped they were – a bath would be heavenly. On the other hand, Eclair's forces had acted on their own. But then again, their formal agreement was not finalized yet.

“[They are.]” Eclair raised her voice and made clear that she was not going to take any bullshit for having her girls do what they had to do.

“[You shall have sovereign command in our absence over all present troops in exchange for Saunders and St. Gloriana receiving access to your bath. The procuring of water and wood shall be handled by a combined force because I do not deem it safe for Maginot to do so alone with our combined enemies out and about.]” Darjeeling put it all in official terms. The, until then practically invisible, girl in the corner looked towards Eclair before she put down anything on the old-fashioned typewriter.

“[Maginot can accept that.]” _With that many more people aiming to bathe we must perhaps make a second trip to get water_.

“[That leaves...]” Darjeeling shuffled papers and then found the notes. “[The matter of when our alliance resolves.]”

“[Excusez-moi, but what will Saunders and Gloriana do to determine the victor of this war?]”

“[We will divide our assets evenly and fight it out; only if we are the last to be left.]” Darjeeling silently scoffed after she answered the question.

“[I ask that Maginot be able to leave in peace and be granted one week of immunity from hostile action by Les deux armées of yours.]” Eclair knew she had not a chance in hell to win against those two. But even if victory was out of reach, because of any number of factors, there was glory, honor and profit to be had. Maginot deserved the undivided support of the French and Eclair was going to get it.

“[Three days.]” Darjeeling knew that if she said three, the French would want six or five, she would insist on three and they would solidify on five, possibly four. And then she would _cave_ , having aimed for four to five to begin with.

And it went exactly as planned. Kay watched them argue back and forth a few times, until they settled on five days. Eclair would just absolutely refuse to go any lower than that, slamming her hand on the table in a brief explosion of unhappiness. “[Cinq jours c'est. Agreed?]” _I need this negotiation to be over. I am starving. And in dire need of a bath._

“[One last thing. This is a personal matter.]” Darjeeling only glanced at Kay for a split second. “[Do you have any quality tea in your possession? We had a number of goods we could trade for it.]”

“[We have peu d'amour for tea. Speak to Fondue, my second in command to talk about commerce.]” Eclair rose from her chair. “[Is that all?]”

“[Yes.]” Both Darjeeling and Kay left their stairs and walked towards Eclair. Darjeeling went first and held out her hand. “[On behalf of the British forces, I, general commander Darjeeling formally welcome Maginot Girls' Academy to Allied Forces.]” 

Kay did the same thing, welcoming Eclair and Maginot in the name of Saunders with the same formal acceptance speech. And finally the three could disperse. “[Eclair.]” Kay stopped her short just before she left. “[Around what time do you open that bath of yours?]”

“[Tombée de la nuit. After dusk,]” Eclair responded as she walked away.

“[How do our politicians deal with this?]” Darjeeling groaned. “[What time is it now?]”

The girl in the back answered quickly. “[4:35 PM.]”

“[We should check in with Assam and Naomi regarding the information of our mystery guest.]” _My neck hurts_. Darjeeling just wanted to be on her feet for a while.

“[I hope that bathing thing works out. Everyone is gonna be hailing us as saints if we manage to secure free bathing for them.]” Kay was optimistic and glad that something good had come out of negotiating with the French for hours. If they hadn't gotten that offer to bathe for practically nothing, it would have come at a much higher price.

“[Almost free. But I wanted us to be involved so the French do not change their mind about our agreement if it seemed like we were merely exploiting them for comfort.]”

“[Should I call you prime minister Darjeeling in the future?]”

“[Don't joke about that Kay, please.]” Darjeeling was hopeful that the bath would relieve her fatigue and that the French would trade their tea away for a reasonable price.

=== Tea and Cola ===

Assam and Naomi were completely burned out after being almost knee deep in papers, records, intelligence reports and the likes. And it was finally time to brief Darjeeling and Kay, both of them looking they had gone through paper hell themselves.

The Brit was ready to handle the first part of the briefing but her efforts were immediately rendered useless. Darjeeling and Kay just didn't have the energy left to listen to a drawn out intelligence meeting. “[Assam. Will you still be able to brief us in four hours?]”

“[I- Well, yes, of course, commander.]”

“[The Frenchies apparently have a nice setup so everyone can take a bath. We negotiated a deal that gets us in on that.]” Kay sounded excited, talking about being able to take a bath. “[Spread the word. Have a bunch of us go over and help them out. It's time for some skinny dipping time tonight.]”

“[Seriously? A bath? We're gonna be able to take baths?]” Naomi felt her spirits almost figuratively lifted. “[After what feels like a week of rain and this damn fog, that's gonna be heaven.]”

“[I am glad the fog has almost cleared up. How far up is visibility now?]” Assam had been stuck in this tent with the documents ever since they tracked down the large backpack that was filled with papers.

“[We could deploy with light tanks,]” Darjeeling said. “[But we will not. Attacking Viggen now would require attacking their base. Doing so with just light tanks would be tantamount to suicide.]”

“[About them-]” Assam tried to start up again purely out of reflex.

“[In the baths, Assam. Unless it is absolutely imperative that I know now, I require pause from talks.]”

“[Yes, commander.]”

“[I appreciate your hard work. Thank you Assam. Naomi, you as well.]” Darjeeling touched her temple and smiled. “[I will be grateful and listen to both of you later.]”

“[Hey, Assam. Naomi.]” Kay's tone was a bit stern. “[No leering at my darling.]”

Darjeeling chuckled, then granted Kay a smile. “[Assam has someone else she will be looking at already.]”

“[Okay, Naomi-]” Kay singled out one of her own aides now.

“[Relax, Kay.]” Naomi scoffed and shook her head. “[You think I have a death wish or something?]”

“[What are your orders until nightfall?]” Assam was looking forward to moving around after sitting still for so long.

“[Maintenance. Get all of your tanks ready for tomorrow. We will be moving out after sunrise in full force. Before the sun is at zenith, Viggen will be no more.]” Darjeeling didn't try to sound cold saying it, it just came out that way.

“[It is high time we see some real tank to tank action.]” Kay was very much looking forward to it. _There's no fairness in it, but come the battle with Kuromori and Ooarai, it'll be fair, even if we team up with Pravda. Oh, yeah, come to think of it, the heck has Pravda been doing all this time?_ “[Darling, has Pravda contacted us with anything since we sealed the deal?]”

“[With the rain and the fog? They have not, to little surprise.]” Darjeeling stretched a little, her arms behind her back. “[As Kay said, those not involved in maintenance, help Maginot. And please tell maintenance to swipe the worst of the dirt off. I am going to have to ask for a few hours of time off. Kay, are you going to join me?]”

“[What do you think?]” Kay stepped forward and tried to pick up her girlfriend only to be dodged with ease. “[Aw, come on, lemme carry you.]”

“[Do not be silly, Kay. I am the commander of the British forces. I will not be carried by anyone.]” _Kay, you oaf. That isn't something we will do in public._ _Do not embarrass me like that._

“[Tch,]” Kay clicked her tongue. “[I'll go find us something to eat darling. I'll meet you at the tent.]”

Darjeeling breathed a sigh of relief as Kay left and was then suddenly subject to a really curious and a really smug look, from Naomi and Assam respectively. “[Have things worked out with Rosehip, Assam? It is strange she is not here.]”

“[She would just be asleep beneath all the paper if she had come.]”

“[I'm gonna bolt. Assam, I'll find you at the baths later. You know, briefing our bosses and stuff.]” Naomi left without looking back, feeling alive again as the sun hit her. The fog had generally cleared up, lingering here and there, but the ground was still recovering from the rain. _I ain't wanna see any rain again for a month._

“[You two appear to get along.]” Darjeeling hadn't been able to spend much time with Assam as of late.

“[She is not my type. But as a co-worker, I could not ask for anyone better.]” Assam also walked out of the tent, side by side with her commander. “[I apologize for walking out on you, commander, but your orders do not convey themselves.]”

“[Make sure you come to Maginot's camp later.]” Darjeeling headed towards her own tent right after, not in a hurry but decidedly marching there. _Maybe I will just lie down for a brief moment; until Kay returns._ _A brief respite might clear my mind. She and I will have to come up with a plan for tomorrow. Even a small school like Viggen will problematic to wipe out if their base is fortified well_. Reaching her tent, Darjeeling sat down on the inside and took off her boots. Her feet were kind of sore. Lying down on the field bed, that was still supported by a lot of paper, Darjeeling closed her eyes for just a moment. _It is perhaps prudent to mobilize the T-28… although if we keep it at the base, it will remain a surprise for our more experienced adversaries. And… still…_

Kay returned a few minutes later, carrying a small tray with some prepackaged stuff on it. Being unable to go out and get stuff, and there probably not being anything to pick up in the first place, because of the rain and the fog had made supplies just a little bit of stretched thin. Finding her lover on the field bed, Kay put the tray down on the folding table and knelt next to the bed. “[Dar~ling.]” Saying her name with a hum, Kay waited a few seconds before poking her cheek once and chuckling when Darjeeling made a very unrefined expression.

Leaving her partner on the bed, Kay hid a half suppressed yawn behind her right hand and sat down by the table, ripping open one of the packaged foods – crackers – and stuffed a handful into her mouth. Not five, but as many as fit into her hand. _Ah… I could go for a nap too. I just kind of understand why politicians and high ranking people always look so sour._ “You did a great job darling.” Whispering it more to herself than saying it out loud, Kay didn't care to use any more English right now. _It'll be so good to just speak Japanese once all of this is over. Although it's kind of nice to be pretty good at English. I'm not like all those peeps back home in Saseb_ _o now! Although… I guess Darling will always be ahead when it comes to talking to people._ Kay shoved another fistful of crackers into her mouth and stretched on the chair, her arms high above her head. _I could go for a nap too. Hm.. wait, what's this strange deja vu_? Closing her eyes to think about that, Kay was fast asleep in the chair before long.

The skies outside were a dark crimson when Darjeeling rose from her slumber, woken by a loud metallic crashing noise. She wasn't really surprised to find a folding chair and Kay both on the ground, the latter awake and looking like she had been ambushed by something. “Oh… Morning...” Kay's yawn filled the tent and it caused Darjeeling to follow up with a yawn of her own, much quieter.

“How embarrassing to have fallen asleep like this.” Darjeeling felt a bit refreshed, which was very welcome. “Why didn't you join me?”

“I was eating crackers and kinda fell asleep. Didn't wanna wake you but looks like that plan was a big, fat failure.” Getting off the floor and putting the chair back up, Kay yawned again. She could move around all day and spend ten hours fighting in the woods in the heat but having to sit around and join negotiations had just killed her.

The neck of the British commander hurt a little and she hoped it would go away before tomorrow. “[I will be counting on you and your girls quite a lot by tomorrow, Kay.]”

“[Hey, just because we trained the infantry stuff harder than you doesn't mean we're lightweights with our tanks now.]” Kay extended her hand to Darjeeling, offering to pull her up from the bed. And she did, pulling so hard that the British commander fell right within her arms. “[We're gonna use your new fancy-]”

“[No.]” Darjeeling laughed on the inside when Kay's face turned from hopeful to extreme pouting in one short word.

“[Oh come on. This is totally _items saving for the final battle_ syndrome!]”

“[Kay, I have truly no idea what you are saying.]” _I didn't imagine her pouting would be quite so funny looking_. “[Viggen is a small school. The T28 consumes an enormous amount of fuel and it is **very** slow. At top speed it still clocks slightly less than your Sherman. Not to mention that we do not have a lot of the 105mm shells that it fires.]”

“[I hate it when you use logic to prove you're right.]

“[Because you are smart enough to understand that I am right?]”

“[I also hate it when you use compliments to disarm me.]”

“[So much hatred.]”

“[Should we talk strategy for tomorrow?]”

“[We will have to find Assam and Naomi first. We've yet to be briefed on what their base is like.]”

“[I've been thinking… what about a fake leak?]”

Darjeeling quickly explored all the possible things Kay could be talking about. Stepping away from Kay and leaving her embrace again, Darjeeling thought about it. “[You want to meet their armed forces out on the fields instead of assault them on their base?]”

“[You know me so well. I just don't think it's fair if we roll over them. We're bound to have way more tanks than they do.]” Kay crossed her arms, looking happy.

Darjeeling put two fingers just beneath her chin. “[They have no hope of winning regardless. But I have no objections if you want to meet them out on the battlefield. But do not make the mistake of voluntarily leaving behind tanks.]” 

“[I know. I can't do stuff like that here. It's not just about my fun now.]”

“[I barely recognize you anymore, Kay.]” Darjeeling turned around and shook her head. “[Who are you?]”

“[You British folks are rude as heck even if you aren't swearing.]” Kay gently pinched Darjeeling's cheek. “[Before we head for the baths and see if they got it running okay, you wanna go check in and see if that Fudon chick traded away the French's tea?]”

“[Fondue. Her name was Fondue. If you ever mistake my name for something else that badly, we will be over.]” Darjeeling swatted Kay's hand away and shook her head again. “[We have gotten this good at English and still you get people's names wrong.]”

“[I'd win you back. Somehow. But duly noted.]” Kay tugged on her uniform and was growing a little sick and tired of it. “[Couldn't they just let us wear our normal combat uniforms at base? It's gonna be a mess when it gets hot enough that we start sweating in these.]”

“[Perhaps in the next war. Although we will be participating on the university level then.]” Darjeeling didn't want to think about that too much. “[I would like if we could attend the same university.]”

“[With my grades? No way. No, no way.]” Kay laughed it off. “[Let's go on an adventure. Raiders of the lost tea.]”

“[You are a far cry from Indiana Jones, Kay.]”

Kay was giddy that Darjeeling understood her reference. “[If we get out of here alive, we should go see the new James Bond movie together.]”

“[Are you inviting me?]” Darjeeling's playful smile conveyed exactly what she meant. _Are you paying?_

“[Yep. And I promise I'll keep the hands on to a minimum.]”

“[Almost ladylike of you.]” Darjeeling stepped out of the tent. “[I graciously accept.]”

Hurrying after Darjeeling, Kay grabbed her hand and the British commander immediately pulled away. “[How brazen you are. A commander will not be seen holding hands walking the base.]”

“[You're still saying that even though everyone knows we're together.]” Kay was content just walking next to Darjeeling for now – but she still tried to grab her hand a few times until Darjeeling's eyebrows nosedived and she knew it was time to stop messing around.

Making it to the storage tents, Darjeeling was already expected to arrive. A girl with long brown hair, styled into a braid that usually hung over her left shoulder but not so now, was overseeing about a dozen other girls from Gloriana, Saunders and Maginot combined, carrying things in and out. “[Commander.]” She quickly marked something on a piece of paper that was stuck on her clipboard and then turned towards her superior properly, even saluting. “[Everything is in order. We negotiated a favorable treading agreement with Maginot. They parted with almost all of the tea they had stored away in exchange for bread, cheese and jam. They initially asked if we had any wine.]”

“[Good work, Rukuriri.]” _I am looking forward to a calming cup of tea after a bath. It will be heavenly, I am sure_. “[Come to think of it, Maginot does have a wine making business associated with them. I wonder students are allowed to drink wine over there.]”

“[Definitely not officially but, you know, **unofficially** , that's another beast.]” Kay was a bit sad to see most of their jam go. She liked western style breakfast. “[Hey, who negotiated though?]”

“[I did. Why?]” Rukuriri was confused by this question.

“[You speak French?]” Kay found that almost hard to believe.

“[Enough to talk about trading. It embarrasses me but there was some gesturing involved in making this happen. Should I not have handled negotiations myself?]”

“[No, you did well.]” Darjeeling was glad that she had been spared from hearing any more French. “[Has there been any news regarding that bathing facility that Maginot was building?]

“[One of their tanks had a mechanical failure during the water transport. Rosehip wanted to set out with two of our Churchill Mk. VII but the ground wouldn't cooperate. In the end, she borrowed two Sherman's to go and get Maginot. I think… what was her name… a girl named Alisa made that happen.]”

“[Have you been over there yet to examine the facility?]” _Although I am sure that calling it a_ _ **facility**_ _is quite a stretch_.

“[Been busy with overseeing the trad- stop, stop. Toi. Arrêtez! Ça va là-bas.]” Rukuriri gestured wildly at a different tent. “[I will be busy for a little longer. Maintenance finished about… twenty minutes ago, I would say. They left for Maginot's base. I understand the bathing place was initially supposed to be the center point of the Maginot base, but they relocated it to be in the open space of a clearing between our bases for easier access. I heard a number of trees go down, is that okay?]”

“[It should be. I studied the laws of war extensively and nothing declares the environment cannot be used to any and all advantages.]” Darjeeling was glad that she had gone through the pretty thick rule handbook again and again. “[Kay, are you coming?]”

“[Commander, before I forget.]” Rukuriri stepped away from the tents for a moment. “[A message came through on the unified open channel.]” The channel that was for one-way messages only; from the administration to the participants. “[They changing one of the regulations for combat attire.]”

=== Tea and Cola ===

A woman in a military short dress stopped as she walked past a table in the dining hall that was reserved exclusively for tankery personnel, from high school level to professionals. The food was not any better than what was sold in the typical restaurant elsewhere on the ship, but it provided the unique opportunity for girls, and a handful of men involved in the organization, to be exclusively among like-minded people. “Nishizumi? Shiho Nishizumi?” 

Shiho looked up, her food already finished; she essentially sat at an empty table, only waiting for the waitress to pay, apparently. “Chouno.”

“As taciturn as ever. Do you mind?” Asking for the open chair across Shiho, Ami was already about to sit down.

_It's taken, actually. But you would have me explain things and she should be back any second now regardless._ “No more commentating?”

“I only cover the day shift, remember? Not that I had a lot to do with the rain and everything. Kuromorimine and Ooarai were two of four schools that did anything. There was a pretty interesting confrontation between BC Freedom, Maginot, Gloriana and Saunders earlier today.”

“A little rain would not have stopped me.”

“You know it wasn't just a **little** rain. You might as well have tried to drive your tank through a lake at that point.” Ami looked over her shoulder when someone cleared their throat behind her. “Shimada Chiyo. Do you need me for something?” _Ugh… having these two in such close proximity to each other is spelling disaster. I better just go with her and get out of here before-_

“You are interrupting my date. Could you please go away?”

Ami's brain was in an infinite loop of not understanding as she just kept sitting there and stared at head of the Shimada style. And so Shiho took the initiative, pulled her wallet from her pants, since she did not carry a purse, and left money on the table. “Chiyo. We are leaving.”

“Woah, wait! When did you two become so friendly?! You are always at each other's throat when I see you together!” For Ami Chono, who was both a captain in the actual JGSDF and also a well known instructor for high school players of tankery, this was a greater shock than a flying tank would have been.

“1991.” Shiho answered and the two of them walked away. Ami watched with her mouth open when Chiyo grabbed the arm of her companion, walking with her like only a couple would.

“Reality is stranger than fiction.” Ami Chounen leaned back in her chair and wondered if the sky was going to fall down next.

“Did you see the face she made when I came back?” Chiyo's mildly sadistic smile met with disapproval from Shiho in the form of just a look. “Don't be a spoilsport Shiporin.”

“You are going to cause misunderstandings by clinging to me.” _Even id we are together again, we cannot simply act like youths in love in public. You might be divorced but I am certainly not; yet. But before I could possibly convince her to let go, it would require convincing myself. And how am I to do that when my heart beats like this just feeling her by my side again after twenty years of being unable to let go and channeling it in-_ “Stop that.” Shiho hissed and the pale skinned woman by her side smirked mischievously. “Chiyo-kichi!” Raising her voice when the woman didn't stop caressing her butt, right through the black pants she wore.

“Fine, I will stop.” Taking her hand away, Chiyo adjusted the position of her purse, hanging from her left shoulder. “Are we heading straight for a bar?”

Both of them passed a trio of chatting women and one of them called out to the couple, a brunette by the name of Kanon Sasagawa; head judge in the Japanese tankery federation. As the current competition attracted everyone of rank and file, she was just about expected to be there at all times. “Shimada. Nishizumi. Join us for a moment.” She was still fairly sober despite two empty wine bottles on the large table that could have fit six people with ease.

“Sasagawa. Takashima. Inatomi.” Shiho greeted the three judges in turn.

“Sorry you three, but Shiporin promised to take me to a bar she really recommends. Another time.” Chiyo immediately turned them down and pulled Shiho with her. She didn't particularly like Sasagawa.

“Don't call me Shiporin in front of others. It's embarrassing.” It was only in situations like this when Shiho's tough shell cracked and she showed rare emotions like embarrassment or shyness.

“It's cute.” Chiyo pulled Shiho strongly to their left so they avoided a table at which a number of university students sat. “They'll entrap me with a thousand questions if they see us. Let's hurry.”

“What do you think about the new regulation they passed today?” Shiho's mind was still full of tankery, even when she was walking with her new and old partner.

“I think it makes sense. The real world military uniforms are not very distinct but they help immersion of the audience whenever combat happens. But for scenes from the bases, I believe it wasn't really necessary to begin with to enforce them. I do think that many will either stick with wearing them in case of an imminent attack.” Chiyo had not been involved in that decision but she had been asked if she was going to oppose the regulation at the university level.

“Allowing general, school specific combat uniforms to be worn openly at base but prohibiting combat engagement without proper combat apparel will increase the level of tactical forecasting in the war.”

“I know you would wear your uniform all the time. But you look good in anything.”

_I would like to see you in uniform again. A short skirt suits you. And I want to see you tie up your hair_. “Hardly.”

“Geez, you don't know how to take a compliment.” Bouncing her hips against Shiho's the two of them didn't really sway from their path, navigating the narrow streets and hallways of the ships subterranean area. “Did you hear that there is talks to spread out the competition to the university and professional levels? They are planning to have the high school war take place in February next time while University is supposed to happen in October and the professional league in summer. They haven't decided on July or August yet.”

“You want to return to active duty?”

“Don't you think I'm too old for that?”

“Don't be ridiculous, Chiyo. We have easily another ten years before we have to think about never setting foot on the battlefield before. Who will I trust my back to if you do not come?”

The Shimada woman blushed and hugged Shiho's arm even tighter. Her red dress clashing against Shiho's black suit, many that passed them did not look close and just saw a completely average couple. “I love you, Shiporin. I always have.”

Shiho started to sweat a little because there were people all around them. “I… love you too. I never stopped.” _I want to disappear_. “Good lord Chiyo-kichi, what are you making me say in public?!” Hissing at her partner, Shiho got even more embarrassed when she was suddenly kissed. Just on the cheek but still. For someone that had been emotionally restrained for many years, that was difficult to handle. “You devil woman.”

“I was known as Shimada the Devil of the Battlefield once.” Chiyo quietly bragged and touched Shiho's butt again. And this time, Shiho gave up on stopping her.

=== Tea and Cola ===

“[I see...]” Darjeeling was listening to Assam and suddenly let out a moan when Kay hugged her from the back, the two of them stark naked. “[Kay! Mind your manners!]” Darjeeling's voice was uncharacteristically high and she was really embarrassed by the sound she had just made.

The _facility_ was basically a really big mix between a frying pan and a pot. It was roughly shoulder deep for the shortest of the girls, making it so that even the taller ones could kneel or sit to submerge themselves. The setup was very simplistic. A large ditch in the ground, which had been dug almost entirely by the physically superior forces from Saunders. Then the ditch was filled with trees, hacked to pieces. This had been done by Maginot for the most part, who had brought axes with them after specially petitioning to be allowed that. The wood was set on fire then. Two tanks from Saunders had dragged the large metal slate, which really did resemble a frying pan, over the ditch once the flames had calmed down a little. Water was quickly pumped in, using the motors of four tanks to power a pump – Maginot had been lacking in heavy tanks and a few other essentials, but their school's policy to not promote creativity, but mastery of a craft, was really shining in a situation like this.

To give the girls a sense of privacy, spare tents and large covers were attached to poles and stuck into the ground, creating something like a large changing room. There was no space for preferential treatment, so Kay and Darjeeling had to undress and bathe with everyone else.

“[Oh come on, Assam knows we're like this.]” Kay tried to grab Darjeeling again but was promptly pushed underwater by her instead.

The water was a little hotter than the average bath would have been, but it was still a very welcome thing for both Saunders and Gloriana; so much that some people left tiny offerings for the French.

“[Sit down and listen. I am not going to explain things to you later.]” Darjeeling was insistent that Kay stopped fooling around. It was hard because everyone else was happily chatting and relaxing. But a commander's work was never truly done.

“[The following schools are confirmed eliminated: Count, by the Axis. Viking Fisheries, by BC Freedom. Koala, caught in a skirmish between Kuromorimine and Pravda. Waffle, unknown assailant. Yogurt, also unknown assailant. Maple, by Pravda. Tatenashi, by Kuromorimine. West Kureouji Grona, by Pravda.]” Assam was really glad she had a good memory. “[The armies unaccounted for entirely in our intel are Anzio, Jatkosota, Gregor, Blue Division and Tategoto. Bonple is mostly unaccounted for after a skirmish with Ooarai.]” Assam briefly submerged herself completely and then came back up. The feeling of the steaming hot water on her face was like she was being reborn. “[Essentially, few of the smaller schools remain. Commander, if I am honest, I believe this same information was most likely also sold to the Axis at the very least, but most likely also to Pravda. Their _payment_ will most likely be the same thing; eliminate one o the smaller schools.]”

“[I would suspect Anzio to be behind this but Anzai hardly seems to be the type of person capable of executing such a complicated scheme.]” Darjeeling did not think very highly of Anzio's general commander.

“[Better not underestimate her. Remember how she only showed up with a single tankette when we all bailed out Ooarai? She lived a lot longer than some of us.]” Kay had a bit of higher opinion of her. “[She is cute too.]”

“[Excuse me?]” Darjeeling pinched Kay's foot underwater and caused the American to flail and fall over, swallowing a bit of heated river water.

“[The information confirms that Ooarai and Kuromorimine have indeed allied and formed the Axis powers. However, Bellwall's involvement is questionable. All the intelligence regarding Bellwall in general is questional. Many things contradict each other in terms of personnel count, vehicles operated, base location and even time frame of being spotted. Intelligence about Pravda and Chi-Ha-Tan was largely absent.]” Assam finished her report and was glad that that was done with. She had been watching Rosehip impatiently wait about a dozen meters away – the _bath_ was very spacious, all things considered. “[Naomi will brief you on Viggen specifically. Now, excuse me.]” Assam was not that tall, a fair bit shorter than Darjeeling and Kay, so she could quite figuratively walk through the bath without exposing herself too much.

“[Done?]” Rosehip had been waiting for her girlfriend to show up. But she wasn't alone. Orange Pekoe was there with her, who was very distraught that more and more people started calling her Ranko, even girls from Gloriana. Next to Ranko was Nilgiri, the unluckiest girl in all of Gloriana, who was often the first, and sometimes the only one, to be taken out during matches.

“[I expected you would be waiting for me alone.]” Assam was not disappointed. In fact she had hoped to convince Rosehip that the bath was too public a place to really do anything that went further than holding hands, washing each other or kissing.

“[Should we leave?]” Ranko didn't want to be a third, or fouth, wheel.

“[That is not what I meant. I am glad we get to spend some time together. We have all been busy these last few days.]” Assam knelt, the water reaching right to her chin now. If she sat down, it would reach all the way to her nose.

“[Even though we only deployed briefly to rescue our French allies.]” Ranko had not been among the rescue squad. She had scored rather poorly in the infantry exams at Gloriana despite strength belying her physical appearance. She was a loader, not a gunner, which made her a poor shot in inter-personal combat.

“[Totally worth it!]” Rosehip fell backwards, and then came back up, her red hair sticking her to her face like sea weed. “[Did they say how often they will be preparing this bath?]”

“[I haven't heard anything.]” Assam's gaze wandered downwards when nobody paid attention, resting on Rosehip's breasts. _Perhaps I could let her be on top… with her vigor and fervor, it might be quite the view when she gets moving_.

“[It's a bit inconvenient that not even a handful of us speak French.]” Ranko wanted to thank the girls from Maginot but it would be awkward if she knew only how to say _merci_.

“[You helped with maintenance Nilgiri, yes?]” Assam moved over by just a little bit when Rosehip came up next to her, grabbing her hand underwater.

“[Hm? Ah, yes.]” The girl was a little spaced out by finally being able to take a bath again.

“[Tomorrow we will be deploying with nearly full force!]” Rosehip was super excited for that. “[We finally get to fight like we trained.]” Moving just a little bit closer to Assam, Rosehip stubbed the blonde's left foot with her right, playing footsies underwater.

“[I never heard of the school we are up against.]” Ranko was not as well studied as Darjeeling and whenever they went to watch matches, it was mostly the bigger schools such as Ooarai, Pravda and Saunders. _I am sure we will be going to watch Saunders all the time after all of this._

“[They're Swedish. They did not have the numbers, tanks or personnel, required to enter the nationals. It looks like they have enough now, but it will not help them tomorrow.]” _In a way, I feel almost sorry for them. The intelligence we received was valuable, but for us to target such a small school could be considered bullying. I am sure that Kay will be quite upset after Naomi tells her just how small they are._

“[It's kind of a bad feeling when we're talking about crushing a small school like that after they haven't done anything to us.]” Ranko didn't feel very enthusiastic about the prospect of destroying Viggen either.

“[Someone will fight them and win. I know there is nothing fair about a coalition of large schools doing it, but the number of small schools still in play is rather low.]” Assam was the third person to not share Rosehip's enthusiasm.

And said girl also felt not nearly as enthusiastic about it anymore. “[So we're basically bullying a small school?]”

“[I hate to call it that, but that is basically it. The saying does go _all is fair in war and love_ , but I still would have preferred we fight someone more advanced. Blue Division might have been a nice opponent.]” Assam heard someone shout behind her, followed by someone else reprimanding the first person. _Naomi must have told Kay_.

“[No.]” Kay wouldn't budge on her decision. “[Darling, I don't care if this isn't just about my fun but this has nothing to do with tankery anymore.]”

“[I understand why you are upset, but do you think Pravda or the Axis will share your sentiment?]” Darjeeling was not happy about the circumstances either. The largest alliance in the war was supposed to crush one of the smallest armies. That just left a bad taste in her mouth.

Kay grumbled by herself for a few seconds. “[There has to be a better way.]”

Naomi watched the lover's quarrel unfold before her eyes. _I know how stubborn Kay can be. I mean, I kinda agree with her. There is nothing fun about crushing some small school with seven tanks and like twenty people with our numbers. We would just roll over them. It's not a fight, it's an execution_.

“[I don't know if this is my place to suggest-]” Naomi sat there in the water, still really calm. “[We cannot risk losing people and tanks due to pride and morals. But we agreed to fight them as payment ad we cannot back out of that either. So how about we fight them, but instead of fielding everything, we use six tanks from each of us. That still gives us a distinct numerical advantage but not so much that they cannot fight back. Ooarai has won worse match ups before.]”

Kay was **really** pouting now and refused to even look at anyone. Darjeeling sighed softly and then moved a few wet strands of hair away from Kay's face. “[Gloriana will send seven tanks. Saunders will send seven. Gloriana will take a defense role, ensuring our victory but providing them a chance to fight on even numbers.]” _You can be such a handful, Kay_.

_Oh, she really knows how to handle that commander of mine. If she tried to force the issue, Kay would just get even more stubborn and lock up completely_. Naomi was glad that Kay was dating such a responsible and, even more so, reasonable woman.

Kay stopped pouting but still looked sour. “[What about using our light-]”

“[Do not push your luck, Kay.]” Darjeeling was reasonable but not a pushover.

“[I can live with that. Seven Shermans against their… Naomi, what do they have?]”

“[Four light tanks, three medium. The light ones are Stridsvagn L-60, the others are Stridsvagn m/42. We know next to nothing about them because they didn't have any records of fighting in world war two so we are going in blind, other than knowing a little bit about their specifications.]”

“[Mes amis, Kay, Darjeeling.]” Eclair, with a white patch on her shoulder front and back, waded through the water and sat down in a neutral third position, away from both commanders and Naomi too. “[Je suis reconnaissant de l'aide que votre peuple a fournie.]”

“[What?]” Kay still hadn't magically learned to speak French.

“[She says she thanks us for the help our soldiers have provided.]” Darjeeling translated with a sour expression. “[With the bath you mean, commander Eclair?]”

“[Appelez-moi simplement Eclair, s'il vous plaît.]” Eclair was in a really good mood since everything had gone much faster and smoother than usual. “[I apologize. When I get excité, I simply return to French.]”

“[You have heard we will be deploying tomorrow?]” Darjeeling hoped that this would be the last bit of business this evening. She wanted to return to base after this bath, enjoy a nice cup of actual quality tea and then go to bed, perhaps spend a few private moments with Kay.

“[Oui oui.]” Eclair nodded. “[I have not heard of this Viggen before.]”

“[A small school.]” Darjeeling didn't want to go into detail, least she made Kay even more grouchy.

“[Je vois. Please, enjoy your bath. To avoid… la déforestation, we will be collecting bois from a nearby forest instead, not this one. I wanted to tell you this. Pas besoin de s'inquiéter. I will be over there if you have need of me.]”

“[What was that?]” Kay looked after the girl, who returned to her own group.

“[I am sure she was worried she antagonized us during our negotiations so she wanted to smooth things over.]” _She is thoughtful but it is fairly clear that she is not used to the position_. “[Kay, should we leave?]”

“[Let's not.]” Kay stretched, arms over her head, and made her breasts bounce really heavily just once by accident.

“[I'm leaving though. See you two tomorrow. Lucky me, no guard shift tonight.]” Naomi waved and then stood up. The water didn't fully cover her breasts, but she didn't care and just walked away. A few French girls were making big eyes at her and calling out but Naomi just waved to them.

“[Is she popular at Saunders?]”

“[Among the girls liking girls faction? More than me.]” Kay shrugged it off. “[I don't need any popularity though. I got you. As far as I'm concerned, that makes me a superstar already.]”

“[I am not letting you change our agreement,]” Darjeeling said so playfully.

“[You know I don't go back on my word. Stupid.]” A squall of water hit Kay in the face just seconds after she had said that. Spitting out more than a handful of water, Kay glared at her lover and tried to return the favor but missed. “[Why you…!]” Trying again, Kay just missed another time, while Darjeeling smiled like an imp.

The two of them continued for almost five minutes before Kay felt dizzy and the two of them had to leave the bath, having soaked quite long enough. Towels could not be taken back to base and were only used to dry off. After that, they were quickly dried near the intense heat of the embers below the bath.

Their military uniforms folded up and in their hands, they were just wearing their school combat uniform and both Kay and Darjeeling enjoyed the late evening breeze. “[I should predict it'll rain cookies next.]”

“[Kay, for the last time, you are not psychic. Nor are you influencing reality. And I do not understand that comment about aliens, time travelers, espers and sliders.]” Walking the small distance to their base unattended and in the dark, Darjeeling did allow Kay to hold her hand.

Kay squeezed her partner's hand and then started to swing her arm, because she was in a really good movie now. “[I really need to lend you some of my manga.]”

“[No thank you.]”

Entering the base, Kay nearly fell when Darjeeling walked in a different direction than what she anticipated. “[Where- oh, right. Tea.]”

“[Yes. And Kay, I am sorry but… I am finally clean again, I would like to spend one night without being sweaty or dirty.]”

“[Then I'll get sex as a victory gift, right?]” Kay snickered when the girl in front of her blushed.

“[Yes. We can steal away and have… sex.]” For the ever polite Darjeeling, it was not easy to agree to something, especially not in Kay's words.

“[It's a deal. Man, you're lucky I'm not a tease. You're so cute when you're embarrassed that it totally makes me want to bother you all the time.]”

“[I would kill you in your sleep.]” Darjeeling squeezed Kay's hand tightly for a moment before she let go. They were back in the base and there were people everywhere now. “[Do you want to go back to the tent without me?]”

“[Who? Me?]” Kay just smirked. “[I'll wait.]” And so Kay watched Darjeeling approach the officer that handled rationing and Kay waited. _She always acts like she is such a high class lady, but she is really cute underneath all that._

=== Panzer Halt ===


	7. Chapter 7

“[Get yourselves moving! Go, go, go! I'm still seeing some of you stand around!]” Kay was behaving like a drill sergeant early in the morning, much to the annoyance of Gloriana's girls, who were used to tough training but not like this. Darjeeling wasn't stopping Kay even though she herself wasn't reinforcing her shouting. She had woken up in the middle of the night because Kay had fallen out of the bed and taken a table down with her. Lifting the girl back on the bed, because she absolutely refused to wake up, had been a bit of an ordeal and robbed her of at least half an hour, if not a full hour, of sleep.

The engine of the British and American war machine was in full start up, both figuratively and literally. Maginot's commander, who looked like she had been up all night, was coordinating guard positions while Darjeeling reluctantly helped out with some translating.

Viggen's demise was moving closer with every second, every step. Munitions were double checked and loaded. Soldiers in full combat uniform ran between tanks, doing last minute warm ups and checks on their equipment. Heavy guns were loaded into tanks or mounted on top. Darjeeling was going to mostly stay back with her girls while Kay would sweep in and go for the kill – at least that was the plan. Combat was often unpredictable and with the complete lack of practice fighting this particular army, Darjeeling was going to err on the side of caution. Losing Kay would definitely ruin things, not just for her but the entire three school alliance.

And Kay knew that. She was itching for a fight, the hot-blooded no holds barred fight that only this competition could give her. Tank battles were already great fun and awesome; everyone knew she felt that way. But adding the other elements of war to it was really kicking it up a notch. She wasn't so keen on getting physical with enemy combatants, at least not until she actually started shouting at her girls and see them leap to action. It was more than just a cheap thrill, it was like something inside of her started to burn. Like a pile of wood that was set ablaze and everything around her, everything she saw, was adding fuel, making the fire reach far into the sky.

An explosion disturbed the deployment preparations and all three commanders were immediately being assault with explanations by guards from their respective schools. “[Just leave it. Maintenance will fix it once we return. Double the guard and triple the heavy armaments until then.]” Darjeeling gave the orders first and Eclair relayed them to her own soldiers.

Fourteen were ready to be deployed, carrying seventy-four people total. A number of them were only operated by three people, carrying a few specialists of ground warfare with them. This was on Darjeeling's order alone. Kay was fully intent on deciding the match with tanks only but her desire for a good match and fair-play were liabilities. She understood Kay, and while she wasn't much for underhanded measures herself, she liked to plan for most eventualities.

Guns were at the ready, the initial round of shells were loaded. It was now that Kay and Darjeeling gave each other an excited look, although Kay looked far more excited than Darjeeling, and headed towards their own tanks. They had a private radio channel for communicating.

Climbing up to her tank, Kay stayed on top, leading the charge the same way Nishizumi Miho did; standing and with her eyes glued to the horizon, binoculars in hand. “[General report, at the ready.]” One by one, each tank reported in, giving the all clear, until it cycled back to Kay herself. “[Freedom One, all clear. Operation Ice Breaker begins now.]” Freedom one to freedom seven were the code names assigned to the tanks from Saunders. Arthur one to Arthur seven were the tanks from Gloriana on the other hand.

Driving out of the outer and inner ring, right through the cleared path, the fourteen tanks left the security of the combined base. The holes were clicked closed by other tanks, driving there only for that specific purpose. Guards from Saunders, Gloriana and Maginot flocked to the two barrier lines, the base on high alert. Any and all attacks would be under the direct responsibility of Maginot's Eclair and the girl only now realize just how many people were counting on her.

For Eclair, this sudden realization came like a shock, a physical, electrical shock that soared through her entire body and caused ice cold sweat to run down her forehead. The responsibility was weighting down on her like a literal mountain. The senior officers from the other schools were all on the excursion. The people from those schools she could count on; Rosehip, Assam, Naomi, Alice, no, Alisa and some of the others, whose name she hadn't memorized yet.

Climbing on top of one of the tanks and looking at the trail of dust that the departed tanks were leaving, Eclair shivered. And when she turned around and looked at the base from slightly above, she shivered again. _Ces filles… those girls must have nerves of steel_.

Driving in formation, four in a horizontal line in front, three in a vertical line to the left and right of the front and four in a diamond pattern in the center. Kay was all the way at the front while Darjeeling was in the center. The Sherman's engines were not running at full, preserving fuel, because the tanks from Gloriana could not keep up with the top speed of their allies.

Tensions were high – this was the first battle where they specifically set out to completely wipe another school off the map. An extermination mission. They understood that only the best could win and that just like in reality, money and personnel were just as important as skill. But it was still both an exciting and terrible feeling to sit in their tanks in silence as they drove towards an enemy that had not a snowball's chance in hell to win against them.

Kay had drilled discipline into her rowdy lot just like a real military instructor would have. Darjeeling didn't need to go quite that far because Gloriana had a higher level of discipline to begin with. The radio was as silent as a cold winter knight, only disrupted periodically by reports of _All Clear_ coming from the various dedicated observers.

It took them thirty minutes to get close to the target coordinates. Under normal circumstances, the girls would have gotten bored and lost their concentration but the closer they got, the sharper their expressions became. For them this was not just a game. The winner would no doubt receive a lot of sponsorship money and have many opportunities. Not to mention that they would go down in history as the first ever victors of the war game that brought tankery to the masses and the mass media. This was real. It was war. None of them were mistaken about that.

“[Base sighed, four clicks North-north-west.]” The report came in over Darjeeling's radio who then reported it back to Kay. “[Combat formation!]” Darjeeling's order was followed without Kay having to order her girls separately. As far as their soldiers were concerned, the two of them functioned like one unit. Although they all knew that if Darjeeling would overrule Kay in the midst of combat, they would follow the command of the British lady – they wanted to bring their friends and comrades back home in one piece.

Assault rifles were gripped with tense hands. Bootlaces were fixed one last time as the tanks took position. Seven tanks up front, in a spearhead formation, with an inverted half circle of tanks behind. The formation's primary goal was to provide an opportunity to separate quickly and without individual radio correspondence. “[Fire on my command only.]” Darjeeling looked to her radio operator and she too felt the excitement that Kay felt. Adrenaline was pumping through her body, making every last one of her senses extra sharp.

Usually she would be sitting there with a cup of tea in her hand but not so here, not so today. Clinging to the L85A2 that was the standard issue rifle of the British forces, Darjeeling did something that none of the girls had ever seen her do and opened the tank's shutter, peering out up above. “[Binoculars.]” Holding out her right hand, the gunner handed them over and she took a good look at Viggen's base. It was a half square and half triangle formation that promoted a solid defense from the plains. The defenses of the base that reached into the small patch of forest were paper thin but it would be nearly impossible to lead an attack through there with heavy machines. Opening the channel to speak to all tanks, Darjeeling made up her mind. “[All gunners, overshoot the main base. I do not mind if the forest experiences heavy rain.]” Heavy rain was just code for a continuous bombardment. She would cut off their retreat option, if they had thought of that, and force them to come out front and fight.

Viggen was caught not by complete surprise – they were aware of the tanks that were four clicks out and they hurried to get combat ready but the initial wave of fire reached their ears before they could achieve that. Heavy shells soared right over the past, causing extreme havoc among the trees, blowing dirt and twigs everywhere. The barrage kept going and going without their aim getting any better.

After four volleys of bombardment, Darjeeling gave the order to hold fire. Viggen was finally mobilizing properly. Normally, she would have told Kay to be careful, to watch out for traps or simply wished her good luck. But seeing the carnage her forces inflicted on that forest and the desperation with which Viggen was mobilizing the few tanks they had just caused something else inside her to rise to the top. “[Destroy them Kay.]”

Kay felt a wave of hot and cold surge through her when she heard that. She was feeling uncharacteristically eager to jump into combat, into the midst of it, firing and receiving, smelling gunpowder, iron, dirt and sweat. “[Advance! Fire at your own digression!]”

Freedom one to seven advanced. It stuck out that one of them was actually a tuned up British Crusader Mk. III, commandeered by Rosehip. This had been arrange that way because Darjeeling knew no amount of discipline would get Rosehip to sit still while her allies were engaged in heated battle.

Viggen approached the hostile forces with their tanks in a far spaced horizontal formation, opening fire the second they had range on their side. The American formation switched to a straight line, rushing towards the Swedish forces at full speed, on direct collision course with the central tank of the Viggen formation.

Spreading left and right just before they collided head on, hammering past the Strv L-60 at the height of their speed, their tracks were like the sounds of thunder in the ears of the Swedish people. Freedom four and Freedom seven took fire but remained in play. The seven tanks used their acceleration, experience and the terrain to their advantage, causing the tanks to drift around, firing a full salvo of seven shots on the center tank and not only taking it out but flipping it over. Before they dispersed into three groups of two, leaving the Crusader on its own. With the normal Crusader engine, there was no competing with a Sherman's speed. Assam was focused on the tank at the far west end of the Viggen formation, with the intensity of a snake that was staring down a frog.

Bombardment from the British forces spelled out a clear warning to Viggen that their match was down there, with the Americans. Should they dare to come any closer, they would be right in the middle of a deadly pincer attack with two armies that far outnumbered them.

Viggen turned around, assuming a circle formation and opening fire on the Americans, who had to take unexpectedly drastic maneuvers; Viggen gunner's were excellent shots.

Assam lost her target when Rosehip commander the driver to to drive right in the middle of the enemy. The tank sped up even more, the engine howling like a mad wolf in the night or a thunderstorm from afar. It was already getting hot inside the tank, despite the brief time they had been pushing the engine. Assam adjusted her aim and just fired right at the front tank, causing her own shot to collide with the shell Viggen fired. If that had been her intention it would have been a miraculous feat.

Viggen's formation was disrupted when the driver of the frontal tank tried to evade the approaching suicidal Crusader and then the formation broke entirely when the other drivers tried to follow up. Nobody wanted to go down because they were rammed by some kind of maniac.

The Crusader slid over the ground after taking a ridiculous turn and nearly fell over. Assam performed an actual miraculous feat by aiming the battery right at the ground and firing a shell just before they were at the height of their one-sided ascent. The tank was forced back on the ground and continued it's wild pursuit of the enemy. To the Swedish, the Crusader looked less like a tank and more like a battery driven toy car that had a gigantic cannon mounted on top of it.

Kay on the other hand was driving in circles with two of the Viggen tanks, her driving doing an ace job at taking as little fire as possible. Taking out one of the tanks with a shot right on the tracks, springing them from the iron wheels, Kay saw the second tank get bombarded by Freedom three, four and seven at the same time, driving it first in one direction, then in the other, treating the soldiers inside to a wild ride of a spinning tea cup attraction.

Viggen was down three tanks already, and seconds after that, four. The three remaining tanks tried their best to get into a close knit formation, but the second they joined up that crazy Crusader was sliding towards them at breakneck speed and with insane accuracy; just as if they were a heat signature and the Crusader a heat seeking missiles.

Using Rosehip as bait, Kay commanded all of her units to form a barrier around the Viggen tanks, a wide spaced encirclement from six sides. Opening fire in a way that forced them closer together, the three Viggen tanks eventually collided with the Crusader and got stuck. With all four of them together, Kay mercilessly opened fire on them. The excellent gunners that had been chosen for this mission strained their eyes to peer through the dust clouds and hit only the enemy tanks.

Before the bombardment could finish, Rosehip did the unthinkable. She fired at the rear of one of the tanks up close, causing the vehicle to behave like a motorcycle doing a wheel, the recoil of the shot making the Crusader jump up a little. And even Darjeeling couldn't believe how reckless Rosehip was then. She used the Viggen tank like a ramp, driving her Crusader right atop the vehicle and shooting ahead and over it by at least two meters, landing half on the ground and half on the enemy tank, driving off just before the Swedish could fire.

And even before Rosehip was out of the way, the six Freedom tanks fired a decisive volley, incapacitating the last of the Swedish tanks. The battle was won.

But for the invading forces, this was just the start. The British tanks started mobilizing instantly, following the lead of the Americans who were now on a deadly collision course with the very base of Viggen itself. Coming to a screeching halt right in front of their tents, the tanks dispersed foot soldiers like an ant hill. Fire was opened without warning and the base turned into a shootout from a western within seconds.

Seeing the cute face of an enemy soldier through her scope, Kay opened fire and hit at least four round to her shoulder. The girl was knocked down by the impact of the bullets. They hurt a lot, about as much as being thrown around in a tank that flipped over, and sniper rifle bullets hurt even worse, often causing big bruises. Kay had studied the proper use of her rifle extensively on her own time. Bent over, she jumped out of cover, rolled over the ground and got back on her feet all in a matter of a second and a half. In combat, time seemed to flow slower than usual.

Viggen had a surprisingly large number of people despite their few tanks. _Enthusiasm, yes, money no,_ Kay thought. Bullets hit her cover and she felt a number of them soar right over her head. The danger of dying was giving her almost wings. Holding the rifle in one hand and raising it over the cover, she pulled the trigger and unloaded bullets non-stop for nearly three seconds. Not to kill anyone but to provide cover fire so the rest of her forces could join her. The British were approaching with systematic elimination now, going so far as to use human shields with the fallen. Darjeeling was preying on the possibility that Viggen's morale couldn't handle something that brutal and her gambit paid off. At the outer edges of the base, a few soldiers put down their arms while others tried to shoot past the human shields.

Kay proceeded further into the base, ignoring the possibility to take a look at their supplies storage and their spare parts. There was still action to be had. And sure enough, she found a worthy opponent. The second she came around a tent, the tent was riddled with colorful holes. There was nothing solid enough to hide behind, so Kay put the pedal to the floor and started running as hard as she could, immediately aware of where her attacker was. A girl that was so much taller than her that she questioned if she was even human; Kay later guessed she had to have been at least thirty centimeters taller than her. Wielding a full automatic assault rifle, the maker of which Kay couldn't recognize, the two chased each other around the far reaches of the base. No matter how quick Kay was on her feet and how agile she was, she never managed to get further than death's doorstep away from that girl. In her pursuit of battle, she had left the other forces largely behind.

Trashing a tent by running through it and just shooting enough holes into the back to burst through, Kay escaped a difficult situation, but not for long. The giantess was right on her trail, her much longer legs giving her a distinct advantage. And there still wasn't much to hide behind. It was like a mine field. But instead of there being mines, every spot was a possible death trap of where that giant was going to aim at. Kay raised her rifle, opened fire and heard the most dreadful clicking sound a soldier could hear. _Out of ammo?_ _ **Now**_ _?!_ There was barely enough time for her to look up, into the barrel of the Swedish rifle that was pointed right at her head.

And then death came.

Everything was shaking. Taking a bullet to the head was worse than bonking her head on a metal plate out of full sprint, she felt. To go out like this, dishonorably beaten because of foolishness? That was the worst of it all. Her body hit the cold ground, her military uniform promptly covered in dirt, the paint running down her chin and throat, a terrible feeling of shame overcoming her.

A loud sound happened right above her. Turning her head ever so slightly, she could see what it had been. _Ah… so this is what happened_.

“[I did not tell you to play Rambo!]” Darjeeling shouted at Kay, who was sitting on the ground after her lover had smacked her in the back of her head with her hand. “[I will have you you that you absolutely deserved that!]” Seeing Kay in that life or death situation had given Darjeeling the shock of a lifetime. It was only because she had very calm hands despite stress and tension that Kay was still alive. Shooting the giant girl in the head from about fifteen meters away was not a feat to even look at for the most skilled of the marksmen among the two armies. But given the chaos, the impromptu stance and the required speed, for Darjeeling it was quite the achievement.

“[I got carried away. I'm sorry.]” Kay had **almost** died. She was confused when the girl suddenly fell over and she wasn't dead. And then the pain of Darjeeling's smack hit her. She didn't need much to realize that her thirst for action and a good fight had almost gotten her killed. And worse than just screwing things up for Saunders, she would have been gone, unable to see Darjeeling anymore. There was no playing that down or being funny about it, so she just apologized.

The base clean up proceeded without casualties on the side of the Allied Forces. While Darjeeling reprimanded Rosehip for a continuous ten minutes, and Assam as well for not stopping Rosehip, Kay was rounding up the survivors. Just letting them go and leave the war was too easy and not good; she didn't want them to feel like she was treating them like nobodies. “[Anyone speak English?!]” Kay shouted once, then again. The tiniest of the Swedish prisoners reluctantly raised her hand and she was immediately plucked from the prisoner row by Naomi, who stood more than two heads taller than the girl. “[Shoot the rest.]” Kay counted on both her soldiers hesitating over such an abnormal order and the captive girl trying to stop her.

And sure enough, she was suddenly very cooperative, spilling everything that Viggen knew, including suspicious information about Pravda. Kay did not **enjoy** playing the villain but there were some benefits to it. In the end, Viggen's base was ransacked and looted by the Allied Forces, leaving behind only what they couldn't carry or use. The survivors were disarmed and after formally surrendering, allowed to leave for the subterranean part of the ship.

Things took an extreme turn when a complete regiment of tanks burst out of hiding, driving at full speed towards the allied forces. Darjeeling froze for a moment just watching the over twenty tanks suddenly race towards them at breakneck pace. Before she could snap out of it, Kay dragged her along with enough force to send a sharp pain through her right arm. Different from the thrill of before, from the excitement of battle, Kay exerted tension now. They were numerically inferior and had no idea of who was actually coming at them.

“[Combat stations now!]” Kay shouted at everyone so hard that the very volume and intensity conveyed not just the urgency of it but also something else: _drop everything and get going!_

Whatever was being carried to tanks was just dropped; whatever had been **on** tanks already was pushed off as the drivers slammed the pedal to the floor, driving towards the ground troops. Gloriana's tanks had to slow down to allow their personnel to board while Saunder's girls went for something much more dangerous; jumping on the tanks that drove past them at forty kilometers per hour. Kay saw to it that Darjeeling snapped out of her daze and let go of her just when her Churchill tank braked like crazy right between them and the approaching army. Her own tank drifted around the Churchill and picked Kay up.

The louder of the two commanders jumped down the hatch, closed it and was immediately trying to do four things at the same time. To her radio operator: “[Call HQ!]” To Darjeeling via their private coms channel: “[You have control.]” To her driver: “[Lead the combat formation! They won't expect us to charge right at them!]” And to her gunner “[Fire at will! I don't care if you miss, mess with their formation!]”

Darjeeling would not let Kay outshine her in a dire situation and proved that once she dealt with the unexpected, she had nerves of steel. The first volley of fire was deafening to Darjeeling because she commanded her tank standing up, in the same fashion Miho from Ooarai did. This was so uncharacteristic of her that her crew was worried but still followed her commands without second guessing. While the first exchange of fire was one-sided, the second was not. Arthur five and six took heavy damage and became immobilized on the spot. But unlike regular tankery, just being immobilized did not mean defeat. The two tanks kept firing three more shots before the attackers took them out completely.

“[Kay. Those are German tanks. Tiger I, Elefant, Panzer II. But these tactics… this is not Kuromorimine.]” Darjeeling ducked as shells flew dangerously close to her tank and she realized how seriously dangerous this method of commandeering was. _Miho must have nerves made from unearthly material._

“[I don't care who they are but we need to show-]” Kay's answer was cut off because her M4 Sherman took three combined shells from the German tanks and while it was not flipped over, the battery was dead. “[Ram them! And get ready!]” Kay's temper was boiling high. There was nothing more dishonorable than behavior like this. Not only attacking with a numerical advantage but also trying to pick off the survivor of another battle? She wouldn't let them get away with that.

Darjeeling witnessed Kay's tank going on a dead-on collision course with the enemy and signaled four of the other Sherman's to join her. _If they want to play dirty, then we don't need to hold back._ The British tanks opened fire wildly and randomly on the enemy formation, separating the enemy tanks which Darjeeling counted to be numbering twenty-two.

Kay was using both arms and legs to stabilize herself inside the tank and braced herself for impact. Her driver looked straight ahead and slammed the gas pedal all the way down. Two majestic beasts of steel collided with a sound that would give every mechanic nightmares for weeks. Before the surrounding tanks could even react to the crash, four more Shermans slammed into enemy vehicles. And what happened next was like a nightmare to for Saunder's enemies.

The Americans poured out of their tanks like ants that were out for blood, jumped across a small gap to land on the other tank. Kay herself came eye to eye with a surprised looking German girl when she stuffed the nuzzle of her rifle into the slit that allowed the driver of the enemy tank to see. Firing into the confines of an enemy tank like a madwoman, Kay shouted something to her troops that was drowned out by the remaining enemy tanks, still sixteen now versus the seven that the Allies had left. Four crashed, two shot out.

Trying to flee the assault from the Americans proved to be futile by the Germans. The second they opened the hatch they were fired upon. It didn't matter if they tried to surrender, real or pretend. Saunder's forces fired mercilessly on anything that could be labeled an enemy combatant, armed or not. The four tanks were filled with dead bodies and Saunders did not stop there. Kay was not following any sort of protocol now and just winging things. Hijacking the German tanks was not much of an option, given the frontal crash that had just happened. But they could turn four and four crashed tanks into stationary batteries.

It was raining shells when the situation intensified even further. A second regiment of tanks, also German, approached on the horizon to the south, the exact opposite direction of where the first one had come from. “[Kay, we have to retreat now! I cannot get a clear number, but we are dealing with at least thirty tanks now.]” For Darjeeling to raise her voice was unusual.

“[How? They are going to chase us down. Your tanks can't out-run the Germans!]” Kay was shouting into her microphone, firing with a stolen German Assault rifle on another tank that had a single gunner poking out on top.

 _I know that. But still, this situation…_ Darjeeling couldn't see a clear way out of the situation. “[All tanks, defensive formation around the crash zone.]” If they could not run away, then turtling down and sitting tight until Maginot showed up with the full force of the Allies was the best course of action. As long as the soldiers survived, there was hope. Tanks could be repaired but there was no resurrecting the dead.

Within just ninety seconds, the defensive formation was complete, an eight-edged star around the four crashed tanks. The Germans started to surround them immediately after failing to prevent their new formation and even kept obvious holes that the other regiment was going to fill.

Where the situation had been chaotic before, it became a complete clusterfuck right before the two German regiments joined up with each other. The flag tank was not just hit by shells but quite literally battered with it, flipping over three times before coming to a terrible, smoking halt up-side down.

Darjeeling, who had retreated inside her tank, peeked back out, seeing a massive force on the eastern horizon, where they had come from in the first place.Kay jumped across one of the tanks, squatting down on top of the Churchill, right next to her partner. “[Holy shit, that was fast.]”

“[That's not Eclair.]” Darjeeling didn't need to see those tanks up close to know that. _That was **much** too fast. Even a combat jeep could not get here that quickly after receiving our S.O.S. just a few minutes ago. _ “[Whoever they are, they just shot down one of our enemies. In situations like this, the enemy of our enemy is our friend.]”

“[Darling. In case I don't come back-]” Kay tried to be melodramatic and leaned in for a kiss but Darjeeling literally covered most of Kay's face with her hand and pushed her away.

“[You will come back alive or dying will be the least of your worries.]”

 _Scary…_ _Englishwomen are scary as hell!_ Kay figured that coming back alive would at least warrant a sweet victory kiss in front of everyone. The more Darjeeling tried to keep public affection on the low, the more Kay wanted it.

Kay separated from Darjeeling, leaving her in total command of the tanks while she commandeered the infantry personnel, preparing for a foot assault of the enemy vehicles. While Kay was doing that, the unknown army that approached from the west was being identified by Darjeeling as Chi-Ha-Tan. And not a second later, her radio operator called out to her.

“[Nishi.]” Darjeeling didn't really know what to say. She was not like Kay and could crack a joke in the middle of a terrible situation. “[Your appearance is welcome but unexpected.]”

“[We didn't think we would be finding the Allied Forces in combat here.]” Nishi's accent was a little thick and there was a lot of noise in the background. She forgot to disable the radio and shouted something in Japanese, which Darjeeling obviously understood but had to pretend she didn't. “[I cannot divulge the reason of our presence here, but rest assured! Chi-Ha-Tan has perfected the art of charging forward and turning the momentum of battle!]”

 _Usually you turn it against you._ Darjeeling didn't bother to berate her; Chi-Ha-Tan had come a long way since the match against Selection University. “[We are in your debt.]”

“[We can talk about repaying this debt at a later time.]” The connection cut off and Darjeeling immediately put a new plan into action. With Kay going off and starting a ground assault and Chi-Ha-Tan catching the enemy by complete surprise, things were suddenly back in their favor. “[Keep formation. Focus fire on the units immediately around us. Prevent them from flanking Chi-Ha-Tan. All members of a tank that hits Chi-Ha-Tan by mistakes will face disciplinary actions.]” In the terms of this war, that meant going hungry for a day and no bathing while everyone else got to eat and bathe, in order.

The battle turned into a five faction mess that nobody could have properly coordinated on their own. Seeing the suicidal Americans charge at a tank on foot, the Germans send out their own soldiers, causing a firefight to erupt right in the middle of a mechanized infantry war zone. Tanks were rolling past them. Kay used one of the German tanks that broke away from the encirclement as cover to flank the German foot soldiers, using the vehicle like a moving shield. Alisa joined up with her as well, brandishing two light sub-machine guns, one in each hand. Jumping onto the tank, Alisa nearly fell off but was grabbed by her hair by Kay, for lack of better reach. Ignoring the pain of a bunch of her hair being ripped out, Alisa immediately jumped further up, providing cover fire over the tank and against the approaching enemy soldiers.

Meanwhile, Kay was slowly moving to the front of the tank, making sure that she couldn't be seen by the driver before it was too late; a single hard braking and she would be thrown off. The tank nearly spun out of control right after Kay rammed the nuzzle of her rifle into the driver's lookout and started firing, scoring a direct hit immediately.

Scared of the tank flipping over with her on top of it, Alisa jumped off and so did Kay, landing right next to each other and immediately spinning into a wild tumble because jumping off a vehicle that went thirty kilometers an hour or more was more than just a wild ride.

Meanwhile, Nishi and Darjeeling were crudely trying to coordinate tactics between two completely different types of armies and forcing back the Germans despite that. Chi-Ha-Tan had shown up with their main force, which was large enough that they would have been a serious fight even for Saunders. They of course came short compared to the combined might of Gloriana and Saunders, especially if Maginot should decide to join in. But for now, that didn't matter; for the time being, they were on the same side.

Against the sheer numbers of Chi-Ha-Tan and their reckless attitude on one side and the crazy Americans and Brits on the other side, the Germans were overwhelmed and retreated. Chi-Ha-Tan didn't stop and pursued them with everything they had, leaving Darjeeling and Kay to clean up the mess.

Six of their tanks were incapacitated. Four of them could be repaired in a day, at most two. A lot of their looted stuff had gotten trashed in the fight, but not all of it. Before anyone else could prey on them, they gathered everything that could be salvaged and played dead. Sitting silently in their tanks with the engines off, it looked like the terrible aftermath of a battle that had resulted in their loss. Leaving behind four Shermans was not an option for Kay and Darjeeling didn't agree with that line of thought either.

“[More so than them attacking us, there is something about that attack that is suspicious.]” Sitting in her Churchill together with Kay, who she only allowed in there under silent protest, Darjeeling was already analyzing the situation.

“[Because they're were set up to catch us in a pincer attack?]”

“[I believe that was not planned. What I mean is their timing. They had to know where we would be. And Chi-Ha-Tan, too. They had to have known where the Germans would be to appear so quickly. But they did not know we would be here. I am strongly getting the impression that we were played by the information brokers.]”

“[Come to think of it, we trusted them pretty easily. We should have checked if there was an ambush. Woops.]” Kay still managed to be optimistic about how things had turned out. There was no point in getting all sour and annoyed. Two people were _dead_ but that was war. There would be casualties eventually and she had been prepared for it. It did annoy her and it did make her angry, but she wouldn't let that control her.

“[What a failure on my behalf-]” Darjeeling tried to feel down about it but Kay completely killed her attempt by clumsily touching her butt right as she was about to keep blaming herself. “[Kay!]”

“[You're not… what's the word. You know, you're not that thing where you never fail at anything.]” Kay felt almost embarrassed to not know the word.

“[Infallible?]” Darjeeling couldn't even feel quite as upset about her blunder now.

“[Yeah. I lost four tanks, you only lost two. And I know you're not good with ambushes.]”

“[I should have-]”

“[Ah, stop.]” Covering Darjeeling's mouth with her hand, Kay completely ignored how uncomfortable the other girls in the tank were with their two commanders behaving like this.

Backing away from Kay, Darjeeling tried to continue her sentence but was promptly hand-blocked again. Her anger shifted targets from herself to Kay. The three other girls that were in the tank, driver, gunner and radio operator, flinched when Kay was violently hit in the face. “[Will you stop behaving like a child?!]” Shouting at Kay, Darjeeling felt her temper boil. _She can be so annoying!_

Rubbing her cheek, Kay had a few tears running down her right eye. The tough girl immediately played it down, but Darjeeling's hand had left a bright red mark on Kay's face and it wasn't going away. She felt bad for hitting her girlfriend, even though Kay had been really too pushy. “[I apolo- I'm sorry for hitting you.]” Usually, she would have been embarrassed, apologizing in front of her subordinates. But Kay deserved this apology and it wouldn't do if her troops started thinking she was too narrow minded to see that she made a mistake.

Kay was so surprised by the apology that she just looked to the other three for help who all quickly pretended they themselves were deaf, mute and blind and had absolutely no idea what was going on. “[Woah, am I being ignored?!]” Kay gestured wildly at the three girls and quickly increased Darjeeling's ire all over. Changing the topic to something more urgent seemed the smart thing to do. “[Has HQ called in yet?]”

“[Commander Darjeeling had me relay orders to prioritize the salvaging and rescue unit after Chi-Ha-Tan started pursuing the unknown German army.]”

“[Speaking of which…]” Darjeeling took a very slow and very deep breath that made Kay visibly uneasy. “[Please don't be as reckless next time. I cannot replace you as the head of Saunders.]”

“[I think being reckless is what made me get through all of that. But duly noted. No more picking fights with amazons.]”

“[Thinking about the origin of our assailants, there can be no doubt. That was Bellwall. There are few schools at that level that use German tanks. Kuromorimine would not engage us like this and moreover, they would not have retreated, at least not this easily.]”

“[I don't know if I'm happy about your definition of _easily_ here. But yeah, there's not that many schools that use German stuff. But isn't this really bad? The enemy of our enemy is our friend and all, but that also means Kuromori and Ooarai will have a real good time convincing them to join up if they haven't already.]”

“[Just like we took in Maginot, they will take Bellwall. One of the possible consequences of our alliance was that this would happen. That smaller schools would be eliminated first, leaving slightly over a handful of the larger ones fighting a battle between two causes.]”

Kay used the poor girl that was the radio operator like a backrest and put her gray cells to work. “[Ooarai. Kuromorimine. Bellwall. Seriously, that's one heck of a danger cocktail. I did think that those two sisters might grab a third ally when they got wind of our deal with Maginot, but-]”

“[Pravda.]” Darjeeling's intercept was like a lightning bolt for everyone in the tank. “[They most likely don't know about Maginot yet. It hasn't been that long since our alliance and they were missing from our present excursion as well. But our deal with Pravda had time to settle. Pravda is almost unrivaled in the northern sectors and most likely holds complete dominion over there by now. There is also Chi-Ha-Tan to whom we got first. They had to pull in a new ally to prevent themselves from being heavily outnumbered and outclassed. Pride won't compel Maho to throw the match.]”

“[Pravda. Chi-Ha-Tan. Maginot. St. Gloriana. Saunders.]” Kay counted the number of schools on her fingers. “[Holy shit. We must have two-hundred tanks between the five of us.]”

“[A terrifying prospect to Ooarai, I am sure. Miho most likely pushed her sister to make Bellwall part of their forces. But that is a problem. Pravda is only our ally to eliminate the Axis and Chi-Ha-Tan has a neutrality agreement with us. Maginot is a defensive ally, which means that in the case of an offensive against the Axis, it comes down to Pravda and us.]” Darjeeling noticed that Kay was staring at her hand. Looking down, she realized she had held both her hands as if she was holding a tea cup out of habit. _She did not say anything. How cute of her._ “[One thing I did not anticipate was the ferocity and… how do you say this in English?]”

“[Brazenness!]” Kay offered her input with a big smile, ignoring that the girl she used as backrest was gradually being pushed further and further towards the radio devices.

“[That will do. Ooarai has an excellent strategist as leader. Kuromorimine are second to none in discipline alone and their lack of mercy. Bellwall are by far the most ferocious and brazen opponent I have faced in a very long time.]”

“[What about me?]” Darjeeling averted her eyes by just enough to make Kay upset. “[Hey! Saunders is pretty ferocious and brazen!]” _That is not something you should really be bragging abou_ _t_ , the three other girls thought collectively.

“[Did the ones selling us information hope that we, Bellwall and Chi-Ha-Tan would all take each other out? No, that cannot be. They would have known about our relationship with Chi-Ha-Tan. So was their goal to decimate Bellwall? If they are so openly against the Axis, why would they not join our alliance then? And to begin with, it is clear that Bellwall knew that we would be here. So what was the point of all of this if not for the three of us to fight and weaken each other? What is their end goal?]”

=== Tea and Cola ===

Chiyo sat at a large and round wooden table that appeared quite luxurious in nature. The chairs were well cushioned and strong liquor was being served to the guests, all of which included high ranking personnel from the Japan Tankery Federation. Among others, that included Nishizumi Shiho, Chouno Ami, Sasagawa Kanon, herself and the very director himself, Kodama Shichiro, “I agree with Nishizumi. As much as I personally would like to step on the battlefield, it would be highly inappropriate.”

It was an impromptu meeting behind closed doors, away from the media and other officials, such as the event staff. “I am not saying that this is a done deal.” The director looked at his glass filled with whiskey and wished he had some sake instead. “But the way things are shaping up it will become more of a cold war than a world war. The rules and the competition itself were not designed to support armies this massive and complex. There is the Ooarai-Kuromorimine-Bellwall situation on one side and the Saunders-St. Gloriana-Maginot-Pravda situation on the other, with Chi-Ha-Tan being involved as well. Not to mention that third party, encompassing-”

“They will fight and a victor will emerge. That is the nature of war. Rather than force an outcome through intervention, we should-” Shiho interrupted the director and was then immediately interrupted herself by Chono.

“I agree with the director. At this rate the war will last for weeks, possibly months. They will slowly whittle each other down, little by little, because it will be impossible to properly conduct a battle on the given scale. They might be the most experienced high school students we have, but they are still only just that; high school students. War has many dangers within that they are not aware of yet. As the assigned instructor for the high school league, I strongly support the notion of forceful intervention. It will also serve as a reminder that while they have now experience war, that there will always be greater threats and they should never be complacent in their achievements.”

A number of people that did not belong to the tankery federation were there as well, including the administrative supervisors of the schools still participating in the war. But given the tone of the discussion, they did their best to stay out of it. In reality, they were just there for political reasons, so that the federation could say that their input was being considered and that they were in the loop for the discussions being made.

“I have to agree with Chouno.” The head judge of the federation, Sasagawa Kanon, looked sternly at Chiyo and Shiho, expecting that they were colluding to give the schools their daughters went to an advantage. “The federation does not have the funds to keep this event going for however long the schools want to prolong the battle. The armies have grown so large that a single large confrontation will be avoided by both sides. The possibility of sudden and complete wipe out is too powerful a deterring factor for them to overcome. Most pro league players would think twice if not thrice about an attack like that. Without us forcing the issue, we will be here for a month.”

“There are many other ways to force the issue without resorting to force.” _Shiporin, I could really use a hand here. Why did they have to seat her all the way over there?!_ The table was large enough for sixteen people so sit at it, and all seats were filled. A number of people had to stand despite there being extra chairs and a number of couches all around the walls of the room. The air had become thin and the temperature had risen at least by five degrees since they started; there were simply too many people in there. “If I may, I suggest we take a break. We are clearing getting nowhere if we continue on like this.”

The director himself was legally prevented from taking a direct vote in the matter, although he had the power to veto any idea presented to the federation committee itself if he deemed the matter harmful to the federations continued existence or prosperity. However, on the matter of taking a break, he definitely had an opinion. “We will reconvene in fifteen minutes.”

Chairs were shoved, papers were shuffled and sighs of both relief and annoyance were heard from various corners of the room. The matter was delicate. The alliance building within the competition had spiraled out of control and there were a lot of things happened that were not governed within the rules. Hastily made amendments were implemented quickly but nothing could surmount the barrier that was already protected by existing rules; those that could not so easily be changed because they had already been exposed to the public through interviews and such.

The room was adjacent to a small and private cafeteria and a waiting room that offered a billiard table and a bar. These areas were strictly for staff and high ranking personnel only. People separated into their own little groups and Chiyo was on her own for a little while, trying to replace Shiho, futilely, with a glass of bourbon. She could see Shiho talk to the supervising intendants of Saunders and St. Gloriana and they were both shrinking by the second. She herself was trying to stay out of politics as much as possible. Unlike Shiho, she was overseeing the university league, which served as the starting point of most professional tankery athletes.

On one hand, she did want to vote in favor of forceful intervention, but it was a very crude method to force an end to things. The first to come to her was Sasagawa of all people. “You know the vote will eventually sway in our favor by necessity. We have limited options and limited opportunity. But more so than that, and I know that you know this, it would be damaging to the reputation of tankery if we bent the rules too far.”

 _Making up new rules is the same thing as bending them,_ Chiyo thought. “There are still other options.” _There is a second agenda behind this that they're not revealing to the rest of us. I have a pretty good idea of what it is, but I need to talk to Shiporin before I make any moves_. “You may by head judge, but that does not grant you the same authority as a char person. You will need at the very least Nishizumi or me, one of us, to vote in favor for this to proceed officially. And there is no time to go into obstruction proceedings.”

“The director has the power to temporarily excuse you from your position should your conduct be deemed in violation of section seventeen, clause four.”

 _Intentional sabotage of proceedings with the direct or indirect directive of personal gain._ Chiyo was suddenly thankful that she took the time to read through the federation's internal regulation papers a few weeks before all of this. It had only been a hunch that she would need that knowledge. “Article one of clause four: The accusing party has to be able to produce proof beyond reasonable doubt for the reactionary clause to take effect. You can't prove anything, Sasagawa. Not with me and definitely not with Nishizumi. That you came to me at all means that you have no hope of swaying her and you tried to bully me into changing my vote because you have nothing to leverage me.”

“We will get the necessary votes.” Sasagawa didn't look fazed at all, putting up an excellent poker face. But as good as her **face** was at hiding that she had nothing else up her sleeve, it didn't seem to mean anything to that Shimada woman.

Sasagawa walked off and made a detour to avoid running into Shiho, who was on direct course towards Chiyo now. “What did she try?” The head of the Nishizumi clan didn't even wait until she was seated next to Chiyo before she asked.

“Tried to make me change my vote by hoping I would not know the regulations as well as she does.”

“We don't have the leverage necessary. Worse; they are correct about the resources. The current situation is not sustainable. I questioned a few of the super-intendants and their stories all match.”

“What do we do?” Chiyo was still against that plan but if Shiho was saying that there was no way to permanently oppose it, they had to look into alternatives to opposition.

“Limit the damage. We will trade fast pacing the proceedings for leverage regarding the specific implementation of the measure.”

“You know, Shiporin...” Chiyo looked disappointed and a bit dejected.

“What?” _Did I say something wrong? She did agree with my opposition of the plan, so most likely she is not content with this state of affairs. But even if we should push forward with opposition, we will eventually be found in contempt of the director because we do not have a concrete alternative method to offer. Coming up with something this quickly will be nearly impossible for the two of us. If at least Chouno was on our side we could leverage the director with unanimous rejection of his plan through the three seats of the league. However, without that-_ Shiho was taken out of her internal monologue by Chiyo taking her hand.

“I really wish you would talk as much with me as you do when it's about business.” Shiho's blank stare was almost upsetting to Chiyo. “Shiporin!” Knowing that Shiho would get angry if she addressed her that way with so many important people around them, Chiyo merely hissed at her and glared. “I can't hear your thoughts!”

“We can talk about this later. For now we need to make sure that the director does not commit a grave error by rushing into things.”

“Nishizumi. Shimada.” This time it was Chouno that approached the two. “A word?” Waiting a few seconds for their silent approval, Chouno sat down in an armchair right by their side, the third of three such chairs. “Under normal circumstances I would share your opinion. But right now, you need to consider not only the needs of the students but also the federation and the image of Japan as a whole. There are very few occasions in which Japan becomes the forerunner of an event at this scale. There is pressure on the director not only from the government but from foreign tankery organizations as well.”

Shiho exchanged looks with Chiyo, but it was Chiyo who opened fire. “We're listening.”

“The original plan as something that was rushed through the official channels in great haste to get something on the floor to vote on. But there is a lot of room to decide the details, which is where I want the two of you to come in and support me. I want you to support the vote. Before the motion passes, I will raise the issue of the existing plan being too controversial and potentially damaging to the federation and threaten to withdraw my vote if I am not given extended oversight on the matter. I want both of you to do the same. I have little doubt that Sasagawa will be appointed as a liaison as well, but if we three agree on matters, we can simply outvote her.”

“Impressive.” _It is a good plan. Her loyalist support of the plan until now will make it seem like the plan itself is flawed too deeply to proceed as is. Even though that is truly the case, most people will not understand that. Her reactionary threat will put it in clearer terms for them_.

“What guarantee do we have this is not a ploy to trick us into approving the director's plan?”

“Crossing both of you like that would be the end of my career in the tankery federation. And although I enjoy my position in the JSDF, I don't want to give up half of my life. To begin with, do I strike you as the kind of person to trick you?”

“What do you have in mind regarding the intervention measures?” Shiho's question was synonymous with agreement regarding the vote manipulation.

=== Tea and Cola ===

Kay was glad to finally get back to fresh air. It had gotten really stuffy in the tank after waiting around for two hours. Eclair had lost her cool and ended up giving some contradicting orders, which caused huge delays in the arrival of the rescue and salvation crew. Chi-Ha-Tan hadn't come back to the abandoned battlefield and neither had Bellwall. As far as Kay and Darjeeling knew, they were still chasing each other out there somewhere.

Having three more girls in the tank made for really awkward atmosphere because Darjeeling was still horridly obstinate about openly flirting or being close with Kay. She didn't mind **Kay** 's subordinates so much, but her own girls being present made it so that she would not even hold hands with her girlfriend.

The radio operator in particular had been lamenting that she went to Gloriana and not Saunders. Kay was heavier than she looked and continuously, potentially subconsciously, was taking out her boredom on her back treating her like a flexible backrest of an armchair.

But now, things were back to a relative normalcy. Kay was riding on top of her own tank, that was being towed by two other Shermans. Tanks were not truly designed to pull other tanks, which made the towing a really slow process. That did give her time to think.

Eclair had not left the base herself, remaining there in case of an attack. Her second in command, Fondue, had led the rescue team and it had been quite difficult to make things work since most Maginot students did not speak a word of English. A lot of gesturing and general intuition was involved in making it to the battlefield.

Kay and Darjeeling had already decided they'd try to prevent that from happening again by teaching a number of their soldiers important words and phrases related to combat and general organization in both languages.

The complete and continued absence of Bellwall and Chi-Ha-Tan worried Darjeeling. _They did not even attempt to contact us. All our attempts to contact them are failing, which means they are either out of range or something is preventing them from answering. We need to return to base before we think about a pursuit, and by then too many hours will have passed. It is still just noon, but by now they could be anywhere. The northern sector, the southern sector. They could even be returning to the battlefield right now. But more so than those two, I am worried about whoever set up this chain of events. Were we just bait for Bellwall? Was the confrontation between Chi-Ha-Tan and Bellwall the real goal? But for what purpose? Having them fight would only further solidify Chi-Ha-Tan's position as an enemy of the Axis. If that was the goal, there were many easier ways to achieve that. It seems almost intentionally nonsensical or contradicting. Was that the goal? To obfuscate a goal that I have not thought of yet? It is possible that this mobilization of Chi-Ha-Tan's forces served as a distraction to make way for an attack on their base. But the same could be true of Bellwall. There is too little information to go on. Ironic. The one that set all this in motion is dealing in information and everyone involved lacks the information to see through their web of machinations._

Darjeeling was being watched from the back, two girls sitting on top of another tank and enjoying the sun at noon. It had been long enough that Assam had already forgiven Rosehip for her reckless behavior and the two were just sitting shoulder to shoulder, holding hands in their own shade. “[We were definitely first place in combat contribution.]” Rosehip had brought this up four times already and Assam had shot her down without fail on all four occasions. This was the fifth and finally, Assam was in a good enough mood to humor her.

“[We probably were. But you should not be so reckless. If we do not survive until the end that will be the same thing as being in last place.]” Assam knew well how to push Rosehip's buttons.

“[L… Last place...]” The words itself were like poison to her.

“[But you did look brave and gallant as commander.]” Assam pushed a little more against Rosehip, resting her head against the redhead's shoulder. “[It's a pity we had other crew in the tank afterward.]” Taking her girlfriend's hand up to her mouth, Assam sucked a little on her fingers. “Maybe we can get a little lost between the tents when we get back to base.” Assam broke the rules and spoke in plain Japanese. This devilish side of her always turned Rosehip on a lot and she knew it. “You can show me just how fast you can move these cute fingers of yours.”

Trying to turn her head far enough to look right at Assam and kiss her, Rosehip just hurt her neck and caused Assam to laugh at her instead. Pushing the blonde down in defiance of her laughter, Rosehip ignored the possibility that someone might see them. Unlike their Lady Darjeeling, they were just a little above the majority of Gloriana when it came to rank. Nobody would make much of a fuss if they were caught having a little fun with each other.

Still trying to kiss Assam, the blonde turned her head with a smug grin, time and time again, playfully tormenting her. Sick of being stalled, Rosehip just took to caressing Assam's neck instead and quite successfully so. The usually somber and prudish girl showed her devilish, seductive side right there, raising her right leg between Rosehip's, her knee lightly pushing beneath the redhead's skirt.

Continuing her barrage on Assam's neck with kisses and licking, Rosehip only stopped when Assam suddenly tensed up. She didn't even have time to ask what the reason was before she was suddenly thrown off. The reason became obvious the second Assam lunged towards her cast off uniform a bit behind them.

There were dust clouds on the horizon. Not just one, but two. And they were heading right towards them. Live ammunition enriched the air, impacting several hundred meters away still, overshooting the first, fleeing army by much. They were right in the bath of one army chasing another. And Rosehip could tell even from this distance that it wasn't Chi-Ha-Tan. That was Kuromorimine.

“[Combat stations!]” Kay's and Darjeeling's voices mixed together.

=== Panzer Halt ===


	8. Chapter 8

Kay was losing it. “[One thing after another! Comb-]” Her order never got through because Darjeeling covered Kay's mouth with her hand.

“[All forces halt! Nobody fire without my direct approval!]” Darjeeling pulled the tactical emergency brake. They were in bad shape already, and not there was another army racing towards them, with Kuromorimine firing on the unknown army on top of that. They were definitely not in any condition to take on the Axis here and now. “[Anyone caught violating these orders will be dishonorably discharged.]”

Letting go of Kay, the two commanders just glared at each other for a moment before directing their gazes toward the approaching armies that were now both screeching to a sudden halt. One of them was caught right between the Axis and the Allies and possibly sweating terribly. The other was just outside the estimated shooting range of the Allies.

Kay got nervous with them just sitting there. “[What do we do? Shouldn't we take the initiative? They don't have that many tanks. It looks like it is just some patrol unit that ran into an enemy.]”

“[A patrol unit that chases another army with open fire across the plains? And is now staring us down instead of immediately retreating? No, this is a detachment.]” Darjeeling took Kay's hand and pulled her out of sight. “[If we fight them here, now, we will lose a lot more than we would ever lose in a fight that we're prepared for. They're mobile and based on their aggression, they're out for blood.]”

“[So what, we stare at them until they decide to back off? I don't like that. It makes me feel like we're scared of them. Like we're letting them get away!]” Kay bit her lower lip. _They're right there! Right in front of me! I should go and fight them!_

“[Are the lives of our soldiers so cheap that you will readily throw them away when we are at the most severe of disadvantages?]”

“[What? That's not what-]” Kay felt like someone punched her in the chest because she realized what Darjeeling was getting at. _I was about to run right into danger a second time._ “[What would I do without you?]”

“[Spend your days looking at me from afar, wondering how you got eliminated so early.]” Darjeeling mocked Kay with a mildly haughty and arrogant look. “[We will give them what they want. Blood.]”

“[The army trapped in the middle.]” Kay was still a capable commander. “[I want to make up for trying to fly off the handle.]”

“[I love this about you, Kay. Instead of pretending nothing is wrong, you readily admit your mistakes and want to fix them.]” She would not kiss her now, not here, but the smile Darjeeling showed Kay gave the latter wings. “[You know what to do. Kuromorimine is not here for us. If they were, they would have begun their assault without hesitation.]”

“[Free units report in.]” Kay asked for a roll call and received slightly less reports than she hoped for. _I can make this work though._ Kay stood up, got a good look at the plains up ahead and immediately moved tanks around in her mind. There were few things that she really excelled at. She was an average student, an average daughter, a good friend. Probably an average or good girlfriend too, she definitely would have to ask Darjeeling about an honest estimation and add one rank to that. But she really excelled at fixing her own messes and at tankery. And she would damn well impress Darjeeling with this!

Moving her forces into a pincer formation, Kay tried hard. Much harder than she normally would. She felt something she didn't feel often: wounded pride. Darjeeling was clearly outclassing her as a commander and she didn't want that. She wanted to be the one that swept Darjeeling off her feet. To be the one that could make crude jokes, cause a situation and then fix it with a smile. She didn't want to make Darjeeling feel like she had to be so responsible. Kay didn't want to be a burden. Not to anyone. Especially not to the girl she was now so madly in love with.

The entrapped army was now faced with demise from both sides. If they charged ahead, they would run right into a hail of cannon fire. If they tried to escape, they would be pelted with the very same cannon fire. Kay had them pinned down and with the way she had positioned her forces she could easily completely close up their escape route. And behind them was Kuromorimine. There was no escape. Taking their chance, the unknown army turned around, trying to charge at Kuromorimine.

But the Germans opened fire without mercy. Before they could even fully turn, half their army had fallen and the other half futilely sought to return the fight.

Kay's hand moved to her communicator, her mind wandering to heroics where she charged into battle, taking both of the armies by surprise, winning an underdog battle. But as she kept watching, her hand remained put, and she swallowed her urge to follow her instincts. She could be better than blindly jumping into things all the time. Sometimes, yes. After all, being impulsive was how Darjeeling and her met.

She watched the unknown army be decimated down to the last woman. Kuromorimine showed no mercy whatsoever, shooting and attacking like a machine, bringing death and destruction with them. Kay wanted only one thing more than command her troops to swoop down there and kick their asses. And that reason was now standing beside her, watching someone be destroyed because they happened to be here. “[This doesn't feel right.]”

“[It is war. That it does not feel right to you means that you still have your soul. It has not been lost between carnage and blood.]” Darjeeling tried very hard to make a solemn face and look mature, and while anyone else in the world would have bought into it, Kay looked at her and poked her sides instead. “[What in tarnation-]”

“[Who do you think you're impressing with that John Wayne like line!]” Kay poked her again and immediately crashed to the hard metal top of the tank she stood on after Darjeeling kicked her right ankle. “[Ow…]”

Darjeeling was blushing, her eyes shut tight. _That damn American brat! I support her, comfort her and she makes fun of me in turn?_ “[You are horrible.]”

“[Sorry. I couldn't resist.]” Kay got back on her feet and dusted off her uniform. Normally she would have just sat up, but the situation was still serious so she behaved like a commander should be. Standing side by side with Darjeeling for a few minutes, watching the unknown army struggle futilely against Kuromorimine, Kay eventually started to feel crushed by the silence. “[I'm **really** sorry! I won't make fun of your quotes again!]”

“[I am not mad at you Kay. Silly girl. But this is not the time for idle chatter. We are pressuring an army into fighting an enemy they have no hope of beating. We may not be the ones that cut off the head but we very well cut off their legs from below. They may not be declared our enemy the way Kuromorimine is, but we are the ones that consigned them to death. It is our duty to watch the battle, with the respect and silence it deserves.]”

 _That was a really long monologue for silence!_ Kay knew better than to point that out and embarrass Darjeeling. _But I guess she's right_. “[You're right.]” _I bet types like her like to hear that._ Kay was smiling on the inside, but managed to keep her face under control on the outside.

The execution lasted not for much longer. Kuromorimine suffered just a single loss, and once the smoke settled, the Allies were back to staring down the Axis. But even the Germans were not bloodthirsty or brazen enough to tempt fate. It was a slow, coordinated retreat, their guns continuously pointed at the Allies.

They were almost out of sight when Darjeeling allowed herself a sigh of relief. “[I was worried they might attempt something suicidal.]”

“[They probably considered it.]” Kay was both relieved and disappointed that they had actually retreated. As a commander and as Darjeeling's partner, she knew that this was for the best. But as an individual, as a soldier, she regretted that she let an enemy go away without even trying to fight them. “[I'm frustrated.]”

“[I'm proud that you did not betray my expectation and remained calm.]” Taking Kay's hand in her own, Darjeeling held it in a special way; not a simple handshake between friends. Not the loving kind, where one would intertwine fingers. This was how one general would thank another for their service.

Kay didn't recognize it as such right away and confusion showed on her face. But when Darjeeling's expression didn't change, when she looked at her with a great deal of seriousness and a mild smile that communicated pride, she did understand. “[You are **so** embarrassing, Darling.]”

Darjeeling increased the pressure on Kay's hand more and more, the right corner of her mouth moving dangerously high, an annoyed smile. “[I seem to have misheard you, Kay. Surely you were not saying something rude **now** of all times.]”

 _She's so cute in how she tries to squeeze my hand hard enough to make it hurt._ “[Yeah, you must have misheard. I was just saying how embarrassed I am. After all, we couldn't chase after the Germans.]” _I didn't know she looked so cute when she's angry. That obviously annoyed smile, that desperately wanna-be tough handshake and that glint in her eyes. But I better be careful, I heard the British hold grudges for fifty years. That they're the pettiest people on the planet when wronged without good cause_. Kay tried her best to not smirk but it was futile; it did show on her face, a little bit. _Tho, Darling is more a case of the prettiest girl on the planet!_ Smiling at her own word play, Kay finally ended the handshake. “[Should we continue back to the base?]”

The sigh the British commander let out was different now, longer about relief. She herself couldn't quite put her finger on what it was she felt. Kay made her happy but also annoyed her and sometimes she drove her outright crazy. And most of the time, it was all three at the same time. “[This is commander Darjeeling. Continue retreat as planned. All infantry personnel, new orders. Two lookouts every three vehicles. Any suspicious activity is to be reported immediately.]” Darjeeling closed the link, looked at Kay for a brief moment and then turned away without a word. Sitting down at the front of the tank instead of returning inside, Darjeeling was not visibly pouting, but anyone that knew her could have recognized her behavior as such.

 _Eh? Did I tease her too much?_ Sitting down behind Darjeeling, Kay was kneeling, she put her hands on the shoulders of the British girl. Not over them, not hugging her, but simply resting her hands on her shoulders and slowly pulling her back. For a moment, Darjeeling resisted, but then she let Kay go ahead with whatever she was planning. And before she knew what was happening, Darjeeling was resting her head on Kay's lap.

“[What is the meaning of this?]”

“[Sorry. Seeing you a little upset was cute so I went overboard.]”

“[I hate that I cannot stay mad at you. You and your darnedest apologies. It would be so much easier to stay mad at you if you were a little more stubborn!]” Looking right up at Kay, Darjeeling now pouted properly, her cheeks looking lightly swollen, her brows deep above her eyes. And finally, she reached up, pulling on Kay's cheeks, unable to really get a hold because Kay had a surprisingly firm face and she was not intent on seriously hurting her. “[Berk. Div. Joe Soap. Halfwit. Blockhead.]”

“[A rare victory era Darjeeling!]” Kay laughed happily that she got that

“[Victorian!]” Darjeeling tried to punch Kay's shoulder, still laying on her lap, and accidentally hit her throat instead, causing Kay to break into coughing and shaking. That was cause enough for Darjeeling to leave her position, kneel next to Kay and look at her with concern. “[I'm sorry, I didn't mean-]”

“['is fine.]” Kay rubbed her throat and sounded a little strange. “[Caught me by surprise, 'is all.]”

“[You really are impossible.]” Relieved that Kay wasn't seriously hurt, Darjeeling sat back, her legs in an outwards spread towards her back.

“[If you wore only your Gloriana uniform now, I could totally flip your skirt.]”

There was a brief pause during which Darjeeling's eyes were glued to the metal ceiling of the tank they sat on. “[I will shoot you if you ever flip my skirt in public.]”

“[I wouldn't do that. Probably!]”

“[I **will** shoot you.]”

 _Okay, note to self; remember this, brain. Don't ever flip Darling's skirt in public. Ever!_ “[Okay. Oh Kay.]” Kay tilted her head and kept looking at Darjeeling, who slowly raised her head, looking at her girlfriend with disbelief. “[Oh! Kay!]”

“[Apologize to English this instant you barbarian!]”

“[No way!]” Kay jumped to her feet, narrowly avoiding Darjeeling as she leaped forwards to grab her. “[Make me, make me!]”

The soldiers within the tanks and on top both pretended not to see their very angry British commander chasing their haughtily laughing American commander across the caravan until they arrived at the very tail, the end of the line. Darjeeling was slightly out of breath, her usually braided hair now a wild mess from jumping, leaping and trying to catch Kay. “[I will not let you get away.]”

Kay looked behind her, then turned back to Darjeeling and took an aggressive stance, as if she was about to tackle her. But then she just raised left arm until it was level with her shoulder. And slowly, she gave Darjeeling a thumbs up. With her deepest voice, Kay almost growled.“[I'll be back.]” And then she jumped backwards, off the tank.

The tanks were barely going fifteen kilometers an hour because the force had to tow other tanks, so Kay simply rolled off the ground and immediately burst into a sprint. Darjeeling watched her from the edge of the tank in disbelief.

“[Come with me if you want to live!]” Kay shouted as she sprinted past the last tank.

Darjeeling bit her lower lip in uncontrolled rage. _That is not even an appropriate citation, Kay!_ “[Return here this instant!]” Darjeeling had no hope of catching Kay on foot and traversing from tank to tank, even in a super tightly knit formation like this where rear and front of each tank were mere centimeters apart, was not without its own problems. “[Kay!]” Darjeeling's face turned red as she shouted. At this point she no longer cared if her soldiers saw her having suffered a total loss of composure. She had to discipline Kay!

=== Tea and Cola ===

“[Come on, I said I am sorry! Like a hundred times already!]” Kay was following Darjeeling around the base, trying to win back her forgiveness. But so far, and it had been thirty minutes, that had been an exercise in futility.

Darjeeling had just finished separating everything and organizing the defensive rings with Eclair. The French commander was visibly uncomfortable with how much Darjeeling was ignoring Kay. _La pauvre fille. What did she do to make Darjeeling treat her with such condemnation? Perhaps a disagreement on the battlefield? None of the troops will even look at miss Kay. She must have committed quite the blunder_.

“[Eclair, would you care for some tea?]” Darjeeling didn't even look in Kay's direction, who kept throwing apologies and questions at her.

“[I actually prefer coffee to T-]” Eclair felt a deadly chill. “[Yes, I would love some tea.]”

Walking right past Assam, who had been assigned guard duty of Darjeeling's tent, Darjeeling quickly retraced her steps and looked at her. “[See to it that nobody Eclair and I are not disturbed by anyone.]” And she said it loud enough for everyone ten meter radius to hear it clearly.

Eclair gave Kay a questioning and mildly scared look before she joined Darjeeling inside the tent. And Kay was quickly stopped by Assam when she tried to follow her. “[Perhaps you should give Lady Darjeeling some time to find… forgiveness within her.]”

Kay grit her teeth, so much that it produced strange grinding sounds. Then she just dropped on the spot, sitting cross-legged in front of Darjeeling's tent. “[I'm not leaving until she talks to me.]”

Assam felt a bit of pity for Kay. _Lady Darjeeling is clearly overreacting with this, but I do feel like Lady Kay should have known better than to provoke her by misappropriating the English language. Not with Lady Darjeeling being such a fanatical person when it comes to adhering to specific standards._ Lowering her voice, so that it would not penetrate within the tent, Assam stepped forward and bent a little down so she could talk to Kay without Darjeeling finding out. “[If Rosehip were to test my patience such as this I would most easily forgive her if she showed genuine reflection, not merely regret.]” _I hope I am not being hubristic by taking Lady Darjeeling's place in this analogy._

“[Reflection, huh...]” Kay looked up at the sky. _The heck would reflection even look like in this scenario? Ah… reflection… look like. I gotta tell Darjeeling that one later!_

Inside the tent, matters were not any more relaxed than anticipated. The entrance was shut tight and Darjeeling sat in the back, on her field bed, while Eclair took the only available chair. The British girl was boiling water over a tiny portable gas stove and carefully counting how much tea she had left. “[If you are wondering why I am ignoring Kay, the reason is simple. She upset me.]”

“[Is this… how do you say in English? Going to be a problem? Is that right?]” Eclair's English was still shaky and being alone with Darjeeling while the usually mild-mannered girl's girlfriend sat outside didn't really help her relax.

“[Not at all. I am not truly mad at her, just… irritated. Kay can be quite the handful. And I do not want her to think that she can always get away with a mere apology. Moving forward, there will be times when I will be seriously mad at her and I do not want her to encounter such a situation without knowing what to do.]”

 _S-So complicated! Just tell her how to make it up to you! You're not a lion throwing her cub down a cliff!_ “[I see. How many days will you be doing this?]”

“[Until this evening. I love Kay and I understand her well enough now that I know… well, prolonging this charade any longer will not have any positive effect. Nor do I do not wish to sleep alone.]”

 _Sleep alone? Y-You two sleep together? You're still high school students! H-How indecent!_ “[O-Oh. So you two have been together for a long time now?]”

“[She abducted me. Saunders raided the main base of St. Gloriana at night and I was taken. Kay professed her love to me and as I have felt the same way for some time, we became lovers.]” Darjeeling focused extra hard on the tea preparations, not because she needed to, preparing tea well was rudimentary for her, but because she felt embarrassed telling Eclair about this. But she waned to share these things. For practice reasons. It would be embarrassing, difficult and most of all, important, to tell her parents about this. And she wanted to be able to do so without fumbling her words or making mistakes in explaining the truth of how they had become a couple.

“Vous ne parlez que depuis une semaine?!” Eclair lapsed back into french and got loud. Clearing her throat, she felt embarrassed herself. “[Y-You have only been seeing each other for about one week then?]”

“[Shocking, is it not? But with Kay, all things in life are hectic and a wild storm of happenings. But I feel strangely… exhilarated just letting her sweep me away.]”

“[Sorry, what does exhilereted mean?]”

“[It grants me great happiness for her to barge into my life and demand a place in it. Strangely so, because I am not usually one for such thing.]”

“[You talk really… old-fashioned. Is that the right term?]”

“[I do take inspiration from the traditional English Lady and they way they spoke.]”

“[You said you liked her before?]” Eclair, like any French person, loved to hear about romance. Even though she was only half-baked in that regard.

“[We all have our crushes that we keep secret. I am sure you have thought about someone before, even though you will most likely never be with him or her.]”

“[I do share your like. I mean, I am liking girls too.]” Eclair hated that she had to speak English.”Pardon moi. Moi aussi, je préfère les femmes.” Eclair hoped that Darjeeling would not be too annoyed by this. “[I apologize, but I find difficulty to properly explain myself in English.]”

“[Is this something that is common at Maginot? For girls to prefer girls.]”

“[Only within our army.]” Eclair had no idea how to say _Sensha-dou_ in English so she would not even try.

“[Anyone in particular that strikes your fancy?]”

“Non.” Eclair felt strangely confident talking to Darjeeling about this. _Is this because she so brazenly told me about herself and Kay? Such bravery, admitting such things to someone you barely know._

“[It is most likely foolish of me to think so now, but Kay… I feel like I will never meet someone else that I can love like I love her. She irritates me, she annoys me and sometimes she can really be quite a pain, but all of that feels insignificant when she is by my side. The smiles she draws on my face, greater than any happiness I ever experienced. Both her rough ways and her gentle touch… the way she messes around but can be caring too. A great contradiction of wildness and romanticism. She is still immature when it comes to the responsibility of leading an army, but I take a great deal of pride in being able to shape her potential the right way. I want her to be by my side, lead together and achieve victory together. My pride would never allow me to do it, yet… I feel that if it truly came down to a final battle between us to determine the ultimate victor of this war, my heart would want me to surrender, to see the glee on Kay's face as she receives the laurels of victory, only for me to be able to fly into her arms after, congratulating her on a war well fought. A kiss, perhaps, would be included then, even though many a prying eye would be on us.]” Darjeeling just stared at the water as it kept getting hotter. The tea leaves were prepared, the cups ready. It was just a matter of passing the time now.

“[Kay is quite wonderful when it comes to matters of the heart. Never must I think _Is this the truth_ when I am with her. Nor do I ever need to second guess her intent or desires. With her, you have what you see. Simplicity can be a virtue and Kay carries it in such a way that it remains merely a virtue at all times. Even when she should use her simplicity to tease and irritate me. I myself am quite surprised how easily and heavily I fell for her. Every day I spend with her, I love her move. Every time I discover a net facet of her personality, I look forward to exploring it more, to know more about her. I believe… it is because Kay is exactly what you see that I know she thinks of me much in the same way. That she loves me greatly, more so than she ever thought she would just a fist full of days ago. It is greatly presumptuous of me to think this, or hope for it, yet… perhaps for some people, a select few, there is such a thing as a perfect match. I will not call it fate, or name her to be my soul mate, I am not quite as much a romanticist as Kay is. But as strange as it is- no, more than strange it is almost careless. As careless as it is to think about it now, I wish us to stay together far beyond this war. Of course, we attend different schools, so it will be difficult to see each other much, but neither of us is poor and as neither of us had partners in the past, I know that even if Kay were not someone I could trust fully and completely with this, nobody would come between us. I know most people will tell me I am too hasty, too trusting, but… I wish to be able to take Kay with me, to my home and with pride introduce my girlfriend to my parents, in all her flaws and virtues.]”

Darjeeling could tell now that not only was she talking too much, she had started to blush halfway into her monologue. “[Now, I believe this is the first time I have talked at such length with anyone in quite some time.]” And when she finally turned around to check on Eclair, Darjeeling felt terribly embarrassed. Never minding the fact that she herself had a light blush on her face, Eclair's face was scarlet red. So much so that it looked like she was choking on hot peppers.

“Mon Dieu…. Tels… un amour fort...” _Such strong love!_ She could scarcely get out a word in french, never mind think of anything English. _Is… is this normal? No, no, no, definitely not! This girl just said so many embarrassing things that my head and heart feel like they're about to burst! I'm so embarrassed just hearing all of that! I would die if I had to say that! In front of someone no less!_

“[Strong love is quite a beautiful way to phrase it, yes.]” Darjeeling couldn't help but feel embarrassed more and more the longer she looked at Eclair. _I… did not expect it would be so taxing to see someone's reaction. And she is almost a stranger. If such a strong reaction comes from one of our fellow soldiers, I suppose I might have to at least have my father have a few drinks or he might throw Kay out of the house._

While Darjeeling thought earnestly about her parents and how to best explain she was madly in love with Kay, said American was hanging upside down from the cannon of a tank in the second defense line, a Sherman M4. _Reflection, huh._ Her hair was hanging almost all the way to the ground and everyone that walked by was taking a double take, wondering what the heck their commander was doing.

The first person to join her, by standing on the ground next to her, was Naomi. “[She's ignoring you?]”

“[Yeah. I messed up and pissed her off too much.]”

“[You know Kay, I've been meaning to talk to you about this whole thing with Darjeeling. It's not **really** my business, but we've been friends for a long time, so I guess I should **make** it my business.]”

“[Shoot.]”

“[Are you just playing her?]”

“[Nope. I mean, I didn't really have a thing for her **before,** but after kidnapping her and jumping into it to get an advantage I was in full romance movie free fall.]”

“[Does she know that?]”

“[Don't think so.]”

“[You're gonna tell her?]”

“[Don't think so either.]”

“[Well, that's probably for the best. Anyway, how serious are you about this? The last time I saw you this focused on something we were prepping for the annual big eater contest and you got the runs.]”

“[Don't remind me!]”

“[It was horrible for everyone involved.]”

“[Shut up. It was horrible for **me**!]”

“[So, Darjeeling. Fling? Serious?]”

“[One minute on the doomsday clock serious.]”

Naomi stopped asking questions and turned her head towards Kay. “[Kay, you've never dated before.]”

“[And? I know you have and I know what you mean by serious. Who do you think has to listen to complaints after you turn down or dump someone?]” Kay was still hanging in there but blood was rushing to her head now.

“[I'm saying this as a friend, but this whole first love things basically never pans out. You went into this under false premises. I have no idea how she feels about this and I'm not gonna go and ask her. To top it all off, you go to different schools.]”

Kay started swinging back and forth and finally got off the cannon, turned over in the air and landed just barely on her feet. Pulling her hair from her face, Kay felt a bit better now. “[I love her now. We're both third years. And you think she'd sleep with me if she didn't love me?]”

Naomi's mouth opened and then failed to close properly. “[You're **sleeping** with her? Sex?]” It was a powerful hiss, so nobody would overhear them.

“[I figured everyone knew.]”

“[Almost everyone knows you two are flirting around and I guess most of em also think you might get a little hands on, but we're talking about home base here.]”

“[Don't tell me you haven't-]”

“[Don't be cocky Kay.]” Naomi flicked her commander's forehead. “[Of course I have. But we did it after we were dating for four months. Not four **days**.]”

“[Why are you trying to talk me out of dating Darling?]” Kay hadn't even flinched from the forehead flick and just scratched the spot a little now. “[Do you dislike her or something?]”

“[No, I just don't want this to blow up and screw up everything on both sides.]”

“[You know, I've been thinking I need to make up my mind if I go professional with tankery, or try to, or well, sit my ass down and study. Because the way I am now there is not a chance I get into the same college as Darling.]”

Naomi weighted her next words very carefully. “[Are you serious? You're planning to follow her to whatever college she goes to?]”

“['course not.]”

“[You had me worried there for a moment.]”

“[Darling isn't unreasonable like that. If I ask her to pick a college I can actually get into if I sit my ass down and study like mad, she'll be okay with that.]”

“[Are you really Kay? We're talking about **studying**.]”

“[I told you I'm serious about her.]”

“[That serious? You wanna keep dating her after all of this?]”

“[Yeah.]”

“[Go to the same college?]”

“[Yeah. Or go into pro tankery together. But Darling is the type that wants a backup plan, so she will definitely want to go to college.]”

“[And what when she gets sick of you or you of her?]”

“[You think life outside of this will be more stressful than being here?]”

“[Huh? No, probably not, but… I guess that's a fair point.]” Naomi was quiet for a moment before she walked a few steps away and came back. “[Seriously? You're that serious her? Even though you've only been together for a few days?]”

“[Darling is the one that's good with words so I can't really explain it all detailed and wordy like she could but yeah. I'm that serious. Honestly, I'm as surprised as you are. I actually feel like shit that she's mad at me. And the whole war aside, I've never been this happy around anyone.]”

“[She **is** putting up with all of your typical Kay antics, so there's that.]” Naomi wished she had something to snack on. “[Wow. I never figured you'd find **the one** before me. I guess congratulations.]”

“[Thanks. So no more trying to talk me out of it?]”

“[I'm your friend, not your shrink or mom. I still can't believe it. You and Darjeeling for good? Seems so strange to think about it like that.]”

“[Now you got me worried I'm gonna mess it up!]” Punching Naomi's shoulder, Kay frowned. “[If she doesn't forgive me, I'm blaming you for jinxing me.]”

“[Let me tell you something good as someone who's been dating for a long time then. If she is half as serious about you as you are about her, she already forgave you and is just letting you stew because you deserve it.]”

“[You think so?]”

“[Unless she's got a secret sadistic streak or something, yeah.]”

“[Nothing like that.]”

“[God, now that you made clear that you're trying to make this last I'm just getting flashbacks to telling my parents I'm gay and have a girlfriend.]”

“[Mine know but they're more worried about me ending up forever single.]”

“[Fair point.]”

“[Hey. I'm still your commander.]”

“[Speaking of parents though, how do you think yours are gonna take this news? You even plan on telling them?]”

“[I don't keep secrets from my mom and dad. Their reactions, huh… I really dunno, I never thought about that before.]”

 _Your parents probably haven't either, with a glutton tomboy like yourself as their daughter._ “[You think she's gonna want to introduce you to **her** parents though?]”

“[I dunno. Doesn't really matter now. We'll be stuck here for a while. And come to think of it, her parents and mine probably saw us flirt around on camera already.]” Kay looked straight up and spotted a drone hovering about three meters above them.

“[That's gonna be a funny homecoming. _Kay, who was that girl you were always with?! What is your relationship to her! Answer me, young lady!]”_ Trying to imitate a pair of parents she had never even met, Naomi earned a good laugh from Kay. “[Too much?]”

“[No, I can pretty much see at least my dad going at me like that.]”

“[But you know, I'm seriously baffled you of all people would fall so hard for another girl. Such a proper lady type, too. And then take it so seriously. It's like a triple layered miracle.]”

“[I didn't just score a valuable war ally but also my future wife. Aren't I a tactical genius?]”

“[That was more luck than genius. Gloriana's commander has some really weird taste.]”

“[I'm not the one that goes cross-dressing as a dude and shows up at other schools.]”

“[It's my special infiltration skill: The Casanova.]”

“[Oh come on. Put a sock in it.]”

“[So Darjeeling is mad at you because you kept running around shouting stupid English one-liners and movie phrases. Most of them wrong, too. _Future and Glory, Darling. Future and Glory._ How does that even make sense? It's _fortune_ and glory by the way.]”

“[Oh shit, really?]”

“[What, that **wasn't** on purpose to mess with Darjeeling?]”

“['course not!]”

“[You have a special gift when it comes to putting your foot in your mouth then.]”

“[You really think she's already forgiven me?]”

“[If you waltz in her tent now, you're going to seriously piss her off though.]”

“[So what do I do?]”

“[Climb back on the cannon and think some more about whatever you were thinking about up there. I need to go and give Alisa a hand before she blows up at some poor random girl again. See you later.]”

“[Later.]” Kay was left behind and with nothing better to do, she did climb back on the cannon. _I wonder what kind of present I should bring for her parents? And calling her Darling will probably not go well. Damn, I'll have to be focused harder than that Achilles guy and his mirror heat rays._ Hanging there for another minute, Kay's thoughts wandered. _I wonder if Gloriana has a pool class. I wanna see Darling in a swimsuit. And all wet. Wet all over, rather._

=== Tea and Cola ===

The strong laces going back and forth over the hard, brown leather, pulled tightly against knee-high black socks. The soles strong and sturdy, the surface water repellant. It was no mere mass produced product but something that would be owned by someone with renown.

Strong hands finished tying the laces of the boots, moving on to grab the plated fingerless gloves from the bench. They were pulled on until they sat neat and tight, satisfactory. The boots pressed the black military issued trousers against the legs. By the right thigh, a holstered military knife. By the left, a holstered hand gun.

Standing up, the gloves were adjusted again, the buttons of the uniform's top half were closed up now. Long brown hair was pulled together time and time again until every last strand had been captured. Forced together into a singular large ponytail, the hair was held together by three elastic hair ties, the black color almost melding with the hair. A large automatic rifle was picked up, theH&K G38, modified to carry extra rounds and more penetration force at the cost of having a higher recoil. “Ready.”

A knock on the door and there was no wait for an answer. A woman stepped into the room. A uniform in complete green. Long, light brown boots, reaching just below the knees. Black gloves that covered the hands fully and a black insignia with half of a golden star on both arms. The buttons of the uniform were gold plated, worthy of a high ranking officer. Light brown hair was tied into a double knot on the back of her head, held in place by several hair clips and ties. “You look quite fantastic in everything. But seeing you in this makes my heart race.”

“Chiyo.” Nishizumi Shiho, commander of the first punitive force, stood at the ready. And she was not alone. Behind her were over two dozen other women, all adults, changing clothes and putting on identical military uniforms. “Preparations?”

In front of her was Shimada Chiyo, commander of the second punitive force. In the room across the hall were four dozen women, in similar green uniforms, ready to march at a moment's notice. “We are all ready.” Chiyo had a decorative saber holstered to her girdle and a modified SDM-R, a designated marksman rifle.

Shiho silently acknowledged the status of Chiyo's forces and turned around. “ **Stand at Attention**!” Her voice was like a sonic boom inside the small room, demanding absolute obedience. And that was given to her freely. All of the soldiers jumped to their feet, hands together behind their back, legs apart, eyes ahead and focused on Shiho Nishizumi. “At ease.” And again, all of them relaxed at the same time.

“Chouno is ready as well.” Chiyo casually informed Shiho, who still had her back turned towards the other commander, her eyes staring fiercely at all of her soldiers, lines up by the length of the room, just in front of the sturdy benches that were partially covered in clothes still.

“Ready in five!” Shiho gave just that one order and the soldiers sprung to action, finishing getting dressed and picking up their weapon.

The enormous carrier sported not only a massive amount of hotels and various entertainment facilities for the guests but also a great hangar where recovered tanks would be kept. But now, in this hour, these recovered tanks had been strategically moved, forming an enormous checker pattern if viewed from the ceiling surveillance cameras. By the sides of the large space, especially towards the entrance, were various camera crews, eager to capture the historic event that was about to unfold.

Military music had been broadcast over the ship speaker system until a moment ago and was now replaced with a grand militaryhymn, produced life from within the ship's small concert hall, complete with an all female chorus. Many of the more seasoned viewers would recognize the music as the _Amestris Military March_ , written by a famous composer from Japan.

“Generalleutnant Nishizumi Miho, presenting the German Bundeswehr Heer.” The announcer matched his voice to the music and just as he finished speaking, everyone within the hangar and even in the area surrounding it felt the impact of dozens of boots slammed the ground in unison. Holding her assault rifle at the ready, Shiho marched into the room, twelve sets of four soldiers in formation following her suit, each of their steps perfectly synchronized. All of them were either professional tankery athletes or soldiers from the JSDF. Marched past the many tanks that were lined up, cameras followed them around from above and the sides. Shiho's ponytail shook with each step and her iron glare did not break even when one camera team had the audacity to film the right from the front for about a dozen steps.

Reaching the other end of the hangar, Shiho stopped, slammed her heels together and finally let her voice out. “ **Attention**!” Forty-eight boots were slammed together on the spot right behind her. “ **Salute**!” Shiho raised her hand for exactly four seconds and so did the soldiers. “ **Formation!** ”

Breaking into a sprint, all forty eight of the soldiers ran past Shiho and lined up at the far end of the hangar, standing still again. Shiho waited until the last one was in position, only fifteen seconds after she had given the order. She didn't enjoy these theatrics but even a Nishizumi could not turn the world on its head so easily. Marching towards the central point of the line, Shiho looked up and down the line once, then turned around. “ **At ease**!” And just as practiced, the soldiers slightly spread their feet apart, their hands in front of their groin, a fist covered by their other hand.

“Colonel General Shimada Chiyo, presenting the Russian Federation Army.”

Chiyo repeated the exact same spectacle that Shiho had put on display. Her soldiers took their spot in a vertical line to the eleft compared to the horizontal one of the German Army.

“Major Chouno Ami, presenting the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force.”

While both Shiho and Chiyo might have lead a few actual soldiers, it was only Ami that controlled a unit composed entirely of active duty soldiers and it showed. Their steps were heavier, their discipline sterner and their faces like hardened steel that had been folded over and over again. For just this occasion, she had been promoted from being a captain to being a Major. While both Shiho and Chiyo held fictitious OF-8 ranks, Ami was the only one whose rank was real, although she was currently only at OF-3, the NATO classification for military ranks.

Standing in formation, all three commanders stepped forward, slightly adjusting their position to form a triangle. Originally, a fourth force had been planned but was abandoned in a hurry because of lacking personnel. They all saluted each other the Japanese way and shook hands while hundreds of photos were being taken from every direction.

The announcer was switching over to the director of the Japanese Tankery Federation, who was now giving a speech about the nature of this event. Meanwhile, the soldiers all remained at attention, the commanders returning to each of their squad after the flood of photographers had ceased.

It was not until the early hours of the evening that the three commanders were finally released from the theatrics. While Chouno headed for a bar, both Chiyo and Shiho retreated to Shiho's room. Although it would be more correct to say that Shiho returned to her room and Chiyo barged her way in.

The head of the Nishizumi clan was just leaving the bathroom, wearing nothing but a towel over her head. After having already slept with the woman it was far too late to be embarrassed about being seen naked. But Chiyo was not even paying much attention and watching a broadcast on TV that showed their little parade. “You look wonderful in military uniform.” Chiyo sat on the foot end of the bed, turning only lightly to get a glimpse of the naked Shiho.

Drying off her hair, Shiho looked at the backside of her lover. _Color me surprised you did not make bedroom eyes at me during the parade. I was fully expecting you to slip in something like that, so people could guess and point at it. They would probably have put it towards our rivalry, but even then you would have been amused by it._ ”I was impressed by your discipline.”

“You can see Ami being a little nervous right when we shake hands. I didn't notice that up close.” Chiyo chuckled softly and then turned around proper. “I dislike sneaking around, Shiho. I want you to get divorced as soon as this competition wraps up.”

“My husband it at sea.” Shiho kept drying her hair and felt neither particularly surprised or annoyed when the towel was taken from her by Chiyo who took over wiping off her bare skin. “You cannot tell anyone before I am divorced.”

“I know. But I waited for two decades, Shiho. My patience went over its limit long ago.”

“Don't lie.”

“What makes you think I am lying?”

“I've known you for most of my life. It will take a few weeks for me to get the divorce through the legal channels. Then we can see each other in public. I am sure you understand this, but you cannot show up at my house unannounced or with any frequency.”

“This is the most you've talked all day.”

“I am making a conscious attempt to speak my mind more.”

“Because it got you into trouble with **both** of your daughters?”

“I do not want to hear this from you.” Shiho barely reacted when the other woman grabbed her breasts, resting her chin on her right shoulder. “What are you doing? Why do you think I just took a shower?” Pinching Chiyo's hand, Shiho stood up, not bothering to cover herself with anything. “And do not tell me I can just take another shower. We are both scheduled for dinner with the president in half an hour.”

“Half an hour is plenty to have sex and take a shower!” Chiyo insisted and crawled towards Shiho on the bed.

“The answer is no.” Taking her damp towel, Shiho threw it right in Chiyo's face. “Get a hold of yourself, Chiyokichi!”

“You're too stingy, Shiporin!” It was difficult for the two of them to break out of their usual routine and behave like they did twenty years ago. But they managed nonetheless.

“Don't say anything stupid at dinner or you will have to sleep in your own room tonight.”

“You're so bashful, Shiporin.”

“And get dressed already. How long are you going to sit there naked?”

“Shiporin you pervert, where you are you looking?!” Chiyo liked to mess around a little. It was a side of her that she hadn't been able to show anyone in many years now. It was a lot of time to catch up on.

“Who is the pervert here?” Shiho felt like a headache was going to hit her soon. She was, in many ways, a bit stoic, even she herself realized that. It was difficult to express exactly what she felt because she had a tendency towards over thinking things. “And do not wear that slutty dress.”

“Oh? Shiporin doesn't want anyone to stare at me?” Chiyo had her usual teasing smile on her face as she got off the bed and opened the closet that contained about three quarters Shiho's clothes still.

“Once I am divorced, I will marry you, so of course I do not want anyone else to look at my future wife like that. Although we still need to discuss what to do about the Nishizumi and Shimada style conflict.” When she didn't get an answer, Shiho looked at the closet and could tell even from the back that Chiyo's face was red like a blister. _She is so weird. What is she blushing about? I didn't really understand her twenty years ago and I don't understand her now. Although I suppose that is simply how things will always be between us. It's been a long time since I spoke my mind clearly with anyone. After Chiyo dumped me, I started to think everything I said through in my head and somehow it led to me having brief internal monologues sometimes. I suppose it isn't a bad thing to weight your words, but perhaps Chiyo is right and I would have a better relationship with my daughters if I spoke to them more. Now that I think about it, they will probably be very mad at me for intervening in their war. They were doing quite well for themselves until now, but budget constraints are often an issue and-_ “That dress is too revealing. Pick another one.” _I forgot what I was thinking about._ “Forget it, let me pick for you.”

=== Tea and Cola ===

“[I might accidentally perforate your ear drums if you do not hold still,]“ Assam said so casually that it looped back around to being horribly terrifying. Rosehip was laying sideways down on her lap and let Assam clean her ears because she herself was far too impatient for it. But since she had neglected doing it for a while now she was hearing a little worse than usual and after mentioning that to Assam, she had been captured and put down.

“[We're going to miss bath time!” Rosehip wanted to go and soak already. The base had been excruciatingly busy with re-arranging things and repairs. And there was also the issue that their commanders had a fight.

“[Trying to clean your ears after a bath will be much more difficult and cumbersome. The less you talk and move the sooner I will be done.]“ Assam bent forward and blew hot air right into Rosehip's ear. “[Or maybe you want us to arrive at the last moment so fewer people are around? Is that it? You want to have sex in the bath? But can you keep your voice down with my fingers inside you?]“

Assam talking dirty to her always made Rosehip both incredibly horny and incredibly embarrassed. The usually proper lady, who was only outmatched by Darjeeling herself, had such a dark, hidden side to her. “[You super big pervert.]“

“[My breasts are not that big.]”

“[I-I wasn't talking about those!]“

“[Oh? But you were so fascinated with them last night.]“

“[ **You** were the one that pushed them in my face all the time!]“

“[That's because you come too fast if I go straight for your-]“ Assam stopped herself and just reached under Rosehip's skirt instead. Both of them were in their Gloriana uniform because they were on standby at the base.

Tensing up, Rosehip thought she would get seduced there, on the spot. But Assam instead returned to calmly cleaning her ears. _That stupid tease_! Staying still was so much harder now because she was overly aware and sensitive to everything Assam was doing. _Think about something else, Rosehip! Something else! Something-_ “[I wanted to show those damn Kuromorimine girls who the fastest is. Why didn't we attack them?]”

“[You are both obvious and awful at changing the topic, Rose. It is almost endearing. You know why. We would have taken heavy losses. There. You're done.]” Sitting upright and putting away the ear cleaning stick, Assam wondered about something. _How long will I have to tame Rose until I can let her clean my ears without worrying about her trying to finish too quickly or taking shortcuts that end up with me being hurt? Perhaps a few months._

Barely a minute passed between _You are done_ and Rose dragging Assam along, towards the big bath. A fair number of soldiers were still there, even outside the bath. Here and there were small groups where one of the girls from Maginot tried to teach the American and British guests a few words of french and the other way around.

Getting into the bath, Assam and Rosehip spotted both their Lady Darjeeling and Kay – about twenty meters apart and not even looking at each other. It was rare that both the speed fanatical redhead and the two-faced blonde lady would say the same thing by pure reflex. “That's not good.” Looking at each other, the two of them smiled a little. Getting into the water proper and sitting down, Rosehip kept stealing glances towards those two. “[Shouldn't we do something?]”

Kay was asking herself the exact same thing. _I tried apologizing and she ignored me. She stayed in her tent with Eclair and she headed to the bath alone… I never figured out what exactly I was supposed to reflect on. I mean, being funny and cracking jokes is who I am, that's never gonna change. Maybe Assam was wrong?_ Kay let herself fall backwards, making a loud splash and then picked herself back up, swiping long slick strands of wet hair out of her face. _Maybe I ought to cut it a little… although Darling does love playing around with it in bed._ Noticing someone else with long blonde hair from the corner of her eye, Kay did the unthinkable and waded towards Assam to ask her for advice again.

And Assam was already waiting for her. There were not a lot of possible answers when it came to the question _Why is Kay from Saunders coming over here_ and your name didn't happen to be Darjeeling. In fact, the list was pretty short. “[Lady Darjeeling is still upset with you?]” Assam wanted to be rid of Kay quickly to spend time with Rosehip. Not to mention, she didn't want to stick her nose in Darjeeling's relationship trouble.

“[I guess you can say that.]” Kay sat down because standing around naked was uncomfortable even for her.

“[She is a respectable and reasonable woman. I suggest you wait until she leaves to follow her and ask what you can do to put things right. She will be more agreeable to answer if you are alone.]” _I think she is just teasing you now, though._ “[Now, do you mind letting me spend some time with my own love?]” Calling Rosehip her _Love_ instead of her _Lover_ was something Assam only did to appear more refined.

“[Thanks for the advice.]” Kay scratched her right cheek for a second. “[Does she keep grudges?]”

“[As I have said, she is a reasonable woman.]” _Shoo shoo_.

“[Ah well, I'll figure something out!]”

Assam reached for Rosehip's butt the very second Kay started to wade away, only to be interrupted by the commander turning about and coming back. “[What is it?]” There was a very obvious sting of annoyance in her voice. _Can you not read the atmosphere, you uncultured swine?_ Assam's patience had all but run out. _Is asking for some time alone with Rose really too much? Am I the unreasonable one here?_

“[You probably shouldn't less Maginot see you mess around in the bath. Maginot kicked out a couple from Gloriana earlier because they were making out. Someone complained and man, you don't wanna piss off the french. Sorry to interrupt. Bye.]” Kay dropped her warning and walked away as if it was the most normal thing in the world to say.

“[Someone got kicked out?]” Rosehip had been awfully quiet until now because even she knew better than to offer potentially bad advice to someone that outranked her **and** dated her commanding officer. Not to mention that Assam would roast her whole over open fire if she somehow made Kay mess up her relationship with the Lady Darjeeling.

“[Nobody will complain about us. We outrank them.]” Assam proved her point by making Rose nearly jump up, touching her butt underwater. “[Of course… you need to keep your voice down and pretend everything is fine or they might report us for indecent behavior. Can you do that?]” Assam loved to play very lightly sadistic games with Rosehip. _The face she makes when she's put on the spot is so adorable I could eat her whole._ Just sitting there in the water, letting the warmth take away the stress and exhaustion of the day, she kept fondling Rose's butt until the girl's face was dangerously red.

“Assam… s-stop, I can't.. ah…” Rosehip tried her very hardest to stay quiet but she was sensitive to the blonde's touch and the situation definitely didn't help her keep a clear mind. Tiny moans escaped her and she couldn't just cover her mouth because it would be incredibly suspicious to do that for any extended period of time. Her mind was getting fuzzy when the touching suddenly stopped and Rosehip felt relieved for just a moment. Then she was suddenly underwater. Assam had pulled on her leg really strong, making her slide over the warm metal.

Rosehip could see the scarlet light of the evening sky even through the water. A view that only lasted for a moment because Assam dove into the water after her, putting herself flat on top of Rosehip, their naked bodies completely pressing together. Air bubbles escaped from the mouth of the surprised Rose, only to be held in by Assam's almost unpleasantly strong kiss.

But Assam had gone a little overboard. Rosehip desperately flailed about, hitting the blonde's arm and, noticing the emergency, was let go. Burst through the disturbed surface of the water, Rosehip gasped for air, coughing repeatedly.

“I'm sorry, I didn't want to actually hurt you.” Assam's personality turned a hundred and eighty degrees when Rosehip kept coughing, actual pain showing on her face. “It really turns me on to tease you so I got carried away. Rose, are you okay?”

“J-Just swa-swa-swallowed s-some water. W-Wrong pipe.”

“Do you want to get out?” Assam did not care about the language they were using.

Rosehip shook her head, took a really deep breath and hit her own chest with her fist a few times, a few violent coughs following and she finally recovered. “But no more pulling on me.”

Assam felt guilty and relieved at the same time. Taking Rose's hands into her own, she kissed the upper side of each. “I'm sorry.”

“Don't.” Rose looked embarrassed again. “I just ended up coughing for a bit.” _And my head hurts a bunch from all the coughing. But…_ The more she looked at Assam's worried and guilty expression the more Rosehip felt like this hadn't been a bad accident. “You're super cute when you look worried. It makes your forehead smaller.”

Assam twitched once and then splashed Rose with water. “Smaller? Are you saying it is unreasonably big normally?”

While Rosehip proceeded to step into one trap after another, Darjeeling and Kay were leaving. Of course, the British girl knew that Kay was followed her and she made an effort to be as excruciatingly slow as possible with drying herself off and getting changed. _It is cute how worried she looks. I did not expect she would be this shaken by me merely not talking to her. I would love to tease her for a little longer but I cannot bring myself to do that in good conscience. She is my love and not a toy for me to play with_.

Darjeeling walked so slowly back towards the base that at about halfway she was stopped by Kay, who had circled around her, unseen, and was now pretending to be waiting for her instead of having followed her around. And still Darjeeling didn't stop and pretended Kay was not there.

The second Darjeeling passed her by, Kay grabbed her hand and stepped in front of her. “[Tell me how to fix things. I'm not **that** smart, so I don't know what to do.]”

Darjeeling held out for almost three seconds before her neutral expression turned to a big, loving smile and she stepped forward, right into Kay's arms. “[You big silly oaf. How can you think I was truly mad at you? Or that I would be still? I needed you to understand that not all of your lovable tomfoolery can go unpunished. But I believe I left you stewing for quite long enough now.]”

Kay did something she had not done in a long time; pout. “[I was so worried I barely ate anything at dinner.]”

“[I saw you eat. If that counts as **barely anything** then if at any time we will live together, I shall budget our food expenses.]”

“[We're still in school and you're already putting me on a diet!]”

“[Do you understand why I have done all of this?]”

“[I went too far while messing around. I'll be more careful next time.]”

“[That is part of it but not the whole reason. I needed to see for myself how I would feel if I punished you. I was worried I would feel justified, that I would want to see you try to make amends. But after ignoring you, I talked about you a great deal with Eclair. It appears I can sometimes be a little talkative when it comes to you.]” Resting her cheek against Kay's shoulder, Darjeeling forced her hands out of Kay's, only so she could take them herself, their fingers properly intertwined. There were very few people commuting between the base and the bath right now so she allowed herself this moment.

“[I talked to Naomi about you. She was asking me if I'm serious about you and such. She didn't think I was and while I was hanging there, I realized… I really want us to be together, not just now, but in the future too. I mean, I can't leave Saunders or anything crazy like that, but I know an honorable lady wouldn't cheat on me, so I'm safe.]”

“[I am happy to hear you are serious about me. I did think, and talk to Eclair, about introducing you to my parents.]”

“[Driving into combat is going to be a walk in the park compared to that.]”

“[They will be understanding.]”

“[I hope so!]”

“[Are you not going to tell me you will introduce me to your parents? What are they like?]”

“[My Dad always complains about me not being girly enough. Mom keeps telling me that I'll find the right person some day, but I think she just wants to tell herself that.]”

“[Perhaps I have to rethink my involvement with you.]” Darjeeling stood straight now, smiling happily at Kay.

“[Nope, too late now!]” Kissing her love in what was left of broad daylight, Kay made sure that at least the cameras saw that she and Darjeeling were a thing. “[I bet our parents saw that just now.]”

Darjeeling stepped back now but held on to Kay's left hand. “[What else did Naomi ask you?]”

“[College came up. I was gonna ask you where you want to go and stuff. Sit down and work something out. I really want to go to the same place as you and I'm even prepared to sit down and study like crazy, but even then I'm not nearly as smart as you are, so there's no way I am getting into any top level colleges.]”

“[More so than the educational level of the college and their prestige, should we not have to consider if they have a tankery team? Not all colleges do. Selection University does, but it would feel strange to go there.]”

“[I bet we'll get some offers after we win the war. We still have to find out which one of us is going to win though.]”

“[I will not let you win, Kay.]”

“[Hah, I am not gonna go down that easy either!]”

They smiled and chuckled as they walked slowly towards the base. Kay and Darjeeling were still hand in hand when a few straggling soldiers came the other way. Kay felt her heart beat faster then, because before, Darjeeling would always turn away, put her commanding pride before her desires. But not that evening. Not that night.

=== Panzer Halt ===


	9. Chapter 9

“You're not mad at me anymore, right?”

Darjeeling looked at Kay with disbelief. This was the sort of question that would have been prudent to ask a few hours ago, but certainly not now. A deep sigh escaped her and she realized this might been seen by Kay as a sign that she was indeed still mad at her. Even though she hadn't be truly mad at her at all and simply taught her a lesson. “You can be quite silly, Kay. You ask me this after we spend two hours in bed without so much as a single moment of rest? What kind of person would that make me, to have sex with someone I still had not forgiven?” Lying flat on her stomach, Darjeeling looked to her left, at Kay.

Sitting up, the field bed cover promptly sliding down, and showcasing her breasts without a care in the world, Kay pouted in a playful way before she proceeded to repeatedly push Darjeeling in the same playful way. “You tease! Tell me when you've forgiven me!”

“I did. Earlier, when we walked home from the bath.”

“That doesn't count. You were all toasty from soaking in the bath and we had a big happy moment.”

“So this is not a happy moment.”

“I'm glad I'm better at not stepping on landmines when it comes to tankery. If I was this clumsy in the field, I'd be blown sky high now.”

“At least you are aware of it. Now lie down, or are you trying to make me lust after you still?”

Kay smirked and closed her eyes. “Nice, right? You know, now that you brought that up, who is bigger? You or me?”

“Americans and their obsession with size.” Darjeeling shook her head in disbelief. “I will not entertain a comparison this silly.”

“Aw, come on. From the way they feel, I think mine are a bit larger.”

“Quality matters more than size.”

“I thought you weren't going to _entertain_ this comparison?” Kay sounded really smug now.

“If you are so obsessed with size, you should know that Pravda's Nonna has certainly a larger chest than you do. That excludes many of the girls from Ooarai, which might fall into that same category.”

“How would **you** know that?”

“I have bathed with Nonna before.”

“ **What**?!” Kay grabbed Darjeeling by her shoulders. “When was this? How?!”

“After a practice match, before the nationals. Gloriana was invited.” Darjeeling loved the almost hysterical look on Kay's face. “Now that I think about it, Ooarai has at least four girls that can match if not beat you when it comes to just size. And of course, there is Jatkosota's Mika as well as Kuromorimine's Nishizumi.”

“Quality matters, right?”

“What a new melody this songbird of mine is singing now.”

“Songbird? You like my voice?”

“I dislike it a little when you shout, but you have a very pleasant voice. I enjoy listening to you.”

“So if I'm your songbird, maybe I should change my name from Kay to Kotori!”

“Kay, I will throw you out of the tent naked if you make another pun that awful.”

“You're too strict with your pun guidelines! They're more narrow than the channel!”

“Kay, do you actually know how large the space is that exists between the European continent and the islands that make up the United Kingdom?”

“Not very large?”

“You said you were committed to studying to get into a college I can agree to attend as well, right?”

“I don't like where this is going at all actually.”

“So you were lying to me?”

“No?”

“So you will not make shifty excuses to avoid studying.”

“I made my bed and I'm gonna lie in it. I guess.” And with those words, Kay did lie down next to Darjeeling, resting on her side and facing the other girl. “See? I made this bed and I'm lying in it.”

Darjeeling groaned with a smile. “I shall let that one pass. It was almost not terrible.”

“Yay me!”

“It isn't a good time to bring this up, but with you it will never be a good time, so I will ask you anyway.”

“This sounds ominous. Shoot.”

“How are your grades?”

“Can I just raise the white flag and we pretend that's what my grades are like?”

“Surely they cannot be that bad.”

“They're not not terrible.”

“Using a double negative is not clever, Kay.”

“I'm not in danger of not graduating or anything like that, but I'm not in the top half of my class. So getting into a good college will be painful. Unless I make it in on a tankery scholarship.”

“It would be best not to count on that.”

“Hey!”

“I am not doubting your skills, Kay. If we are talking about all around performance in this war, you are better than me.” _Although I most definitely would beat you in a pure tankery fight. I must teach you a few things about tactics, another time_. “And still, scholarships for tankery? Those things happen rarely even for the globally prominent sports.”

“Oh you mean I should have a backup plan?”

“What was your primary choice after graduating high school?”

“I wrote _college_ on my career plan thing with _pilot_ as second choice and _pro tankery athlete_ as third. I guess I'll bump the third up to first now. Getting paid for all of this would be like getting paid for having fun.”

“As a professional, you will be paid to bring back victory, Kay. Not just fight.”

“I know, I know. I guess that comes down to whether I'm up **against** you or **with** you.”

“Are you saying you could not beat me?”

“I know you would somehow outsmart me.”

“You flatter me.”

“Nah, I really think so. I'd probably have lost a whole bunch of people and tanks by now if it wasn't for you.”

“A humble Kay. Who are you, imposter? What have you done with the real Kay? And stay away from me.”

“You haven't come up with a new random saying in days. I guess that makes both of us imposters, so it's fine, right?”

“That I have not said them out loud does not mean I did not think of them.”

“Then lets hear one right now.”

“She who talks too much after sex compensates for something.”

“Hey! Actually, hey times two!”

“She who complains after sticking her foot in her mouth often remains with the foot stuck where it is.”

“Those are just as bad as my puns.”

“She who sees through the truth shall be blessed.” Darjeeling smiled at Kay's retort, grabbed her hand and kissed her fingers. “I love you Kay, including your puns.”

Kay turned the hand holding around and returned the kiss. “No matter how many bad sayings you come up with, I love you too.”

Darjeeling smiled for a few seconds before she closed her eyes and sighed a little. “Because I love you so it will be painful to return to Gloriana alone.”

“They're gonna take pictures of everyone that makes it this far, right? And definitely of the winners, right?”

Darjeeling was confused by this sudden change of topic. “Certainly so.”

“So, I'll get you a copy of a nice full body image of me-”

“Kay, you are not-”

“And you could have someone make a print of it-”

“Do not even finish thinking this sentence.”

“On a pillow cover and get a hug pillow!”

“Kay!”

“I would definitely get a Darjeeling hug pillow and not feel one molecule of shame.”

“It's _one iota of shame_ and you are impossible, Kay!”

“What? I'm gonna miss you like mad when we go back to school. And it's super expensive to call from our cellphones. My plan doesn't cover that and I'll go nuts if I go a week without seeing you or talking to you.” Kay didn't really care that Darjeeling was blushing right in front of her. “I'm not just saying that.” Moving up, Kay touched her forehead against that of her Darling. “You feel the same, right?”

“I wish to know if all this smooth talking is intentional.” Darjeeling's face was a deep red right around her nose. “I do feel the same. Not seeing you will be difficult. For now we are together, and I will have no more of this saddening talk.”

“You really started talking like some sort of old times English person. It's kinda cute. Makes you kinda sound like an anime character though.”

“Your analogies are only exceeded in terribleness by your puns.”

“You sound like Alena when you say _terribleness_.”

“I do swear, if this is another movie reference, Kay.” Darjeeling didn't have to be specific about whether she'd do anything.

“Dragon Quest!”

Even Darjeeling knew what that was, even though she did not recognize the character name. “I cannot believe you.”

“I'm just that amazing.”

“Amazing is the right word. In many ways.”

“In a tank. On the ground. In the woods.” Smirking extremely wide for the next part. “In bed.”

“A couple of those are quite exaggerated.”

“Wait, which ones?”

“I will leave this to your imagination.”

“I'm not bad in bed!”

“No comment.”

“Darling!”

“No, you are not. And you are a capable tank commander as well.”

“Phew. I can live with that.”

Darjeeling changed the way she looked at Kay and talked to her only rarely. Only in moments like these. “You seriously were worried about under performing?” Darjeeling reached past Kay's face, patting her head. “You're really dumb sometimes, Kay. Did I **sound** like you weren't good?”

Kay managed to actually blush fiercely over that. “Head pats are cheating.”

“I'm allowed to cheat, I'm your girlfriend.”

“Switch on the Ya Olden English-Japanese again. You sound sexier that way.”

“I am rightfully outlawing any continuing attempts of yours regarding terms of… the English, as far as...”

“You lost track of where you were going with that.” Kay chuckled heavily and squeezed her eyes shut when Darjeeling ruffled her hair strongly, embarrassed over being caught red handed.

“It is Ye Olde English, Kay.”

“The great Darjeeling lost track of where she was going with her- hey, stop, stop, I'll drop it, Darling, you're ruining my hair!”

“Whose fault do you think that is!” Turning the already messy hair into an even greater mess, Darjeeling eventually stopped and laid back, suddenly feeling exhausted. “It is almost certainly past midnight now. We should give serious thought to sleeping.” _Talking like this makes me sound sexier? Well, if Kay says so…_

“Sleep sounds like a good idea actually.” Kay kept a continuous smile on her face. “Wanna spoon?”

“You old man in disguise.” But despite her playful complaint, Darjeeling slowly rolled over, looking slightly over her shoulder. “But keep your paws to yourself.”

Putting her arms around the British's waist, resting on her naked skin, Kay was really happy on the inside that Darjeeling was not too embarrassed to sleep next to her naked. “I **so** love you, Darling.”

“I love you as well, Kay.”

“I love you more.”

“I will not play a game of never ending _no, I love_ _ **you**_ _more_ with you, Kay.”

“Then good night, Darling.”

“Good night, Kay.”

About a dozen tents over, Rosehip was just dragging herself into a tent, mud on her boots, hands and body cold from the dark of the night. The boots left by the entrance, Rosehip shivered, standing in the dark of the tent. Taking off the secondary uniform first, slowly because so late at night not even Rosehip had anymore energy to do anything quickly, she left the clothes on the floor. Taking off her Gloriana uniform came next, the skirt first, then the vest. A heartfelt yawn came out of her mouth. _I can't believe I ended up on guard dut_ _y for half the night._ Having stripped down to her underwear, she grabbed the cover of the field bed and slipped in.

Unlike many of the other soldiers, she didn't return to a cold bed. Another body had warmed the bed, warmed the air, preparing a comfortable rest for her. Although she hadn't been that quiet, the girl on the bed remained fast asleep. It had been a long day, so that wasn't too surprising. _Assam's warm back and hands…_ Seeing out the blonde's skin, Rose was relieved to find that she didn't sleep naked. The night was really cold and she wanted to warm herself up, but just that. She was too tired, too exhausted both physically and mentally, to endure Assam's wiles now. With Assam facing the side of the tent, her back turned towards Rosehip, the redhead snuggled up to her, one arm slowly reaching over Assam's side, loosely hanging down in front of the blonde's stomach. Her chest and Assam's back connected, she felt the warmth of someone that had been asleep for a while.

Or was pretending to be asleep. _She's so cute, quietly coming to bed. Her first, first, always first nature is taking a break this late in the night. I so wish to turn around and have a little fun with her, but no._ Shifting a little, back and forth to keep the pretense, Assam grabbed her girlfriend's hand in a sleeping stupor. _After seeing commander Darjeeling and Kay today, I feel I should decide just how much I really like Rosehip. She's beautiful and great fun to tease. She is a little amateurish in bed, but I see that as a fortunate thing. I know nothing about what she wants to do in the future or how much she likes me… although coming to bed like this and cuddling up to me speaks in favor of her liking me quite a bit._

 _Should I say something?_ Assam was on the verge of drifting back to sleep. _Ask her how she feels about me?_ _Maybe tonight, now, is not the best time. And maybe I should get my own feelings in order first. I envy lady Darjeeling; she was lucky, to have found someone she so unconditionally loves, someone she just fell for and that loves her back. For us normal people, it is a little more difficult. We find someone that we like, that makes us happy, and we compromise on their faults. Rose's faults… I suppose she has a few. Her overeager desire to be the fastest, the first. Her lacking mannerisms. Perhaps even a bit of a foul mouth. But for me, I can easily live with all of those. Well, that is quite a surprising takeaway from this. To think my compromises would amount to so little._

Feeling Rosehip's shallow breathing against her back, Assam slowly, almost in slow motion, turned around until she saw into the sleeping face of her girlfriend, hidden by the darkness of the night. _I take that back. She is more beautiful than she is cute. Her brazen and rough personality belie her looks._ Seeing her up close like that, Assam did remember a few irritating scenarios. _That time when she sprained her ankles and she resorted to using a kick roller… I suppose she needs a bit of direction in life._ And then another memory came back to her. _Or the time she blew out the engine of her tank during practice._ Assam just looked at Rose for a few seconds then. _A lot of direction in life._ A final quick kiss on Rosehip's exposed forehead and Assam tried to go to sleep herself.

But not all of the allied base was that peaceful. One by one they came, sneaking from shadow to shadow, perfectly hidden not through guile and expertise, no, but information. Intruders that did not belong there, full of desperation and seeking glory in death. They were all resigned to their fate. They would not be able to escape, they would not be able to kill everyone stealthily. Too great was the number of their adversaries and too large the gap between their own skill and tactical prowess and theirs.

A small gap in their line of defense, a tree that prevented the tanks from properly connecting. A small area of dead space, every ten seconds. They crawled over the cold ground, armed with only the most essential of their gears. Knives and handguns. There existed no such thing as a silencer for the weapons they used and gunfire at the depth of night would give them away quickly. No, they had to be careful, meticulous. Fourteen of them had entered the base now, undetected still. Crouching several meters away from the outer defense ring, their commander, Asparagus, a tomboy with short blonde hair, was giving them instructions in French. Her words were no more than whispers, impossible to hear for anyone further away than one or two meters. And just as the second batch came, the second thirteen, the first dispersed into the base, trying desperately to remember the layout as they had learned it.

Asparagus was not proud of what she was doing. She would not lower her head and join hands with the Axis. No, she would show the world that the French were not the kind that would just give up and let themselves by lorded over by what everyone believed to be greater powers. To strike a decisive blow at the allies at the cost of her own life, the lives of everyone in the true French army, she would prove once and for all that Maginot was no more than a poor imitation of the true French power. Even if she had to rely on those damn spies. She had a bad feeling about all of it, but every bit of information so far had proven to be true. The route of safe approach, the hole in their line of defense, how worn down they were and thus stretched thin. They had made no secret out of the true nature of that mission.

“ _You will all die,”_ the messenger had told them. She still didn't know where she had come from and where she belonged but her French was exemplary, yet free of the accent that those at Maginot used. “ _You are already no more than walking dead. You cannot hope to directly compete with those that remain. But there still is a chance for you to bring glory to France._ ” What choice did she have? With the meager number of tanks they had left, too few to even use half their surviving personnel, what could she possibly do against numerical advantages as gargantuan as the Allies and the Axis? Even Chi-Ha-Tan or Pravda were too powerful a foe to attack directly. And glory could be found in death under the right circumstances.

Further into the base, the intruders had achieved their first casualties – on both sides. After attacking one of the night patrols and dragging her into the shadows between the tents, the infiltrator, the girl from BC Freedom, had been attacked herself. Out of the depths of the night came a brutal kick to the hollow of her knees, forcing her on the ground. She did not even have time to scream out, a warm hand suddenly covering her mouth with enough pressure that a surge of fear ran through her body. A single instant later, her right arm was twisted behind her back.

“[Ma chérie, my jacket. Wrap it around my gun.]” The captured infiltrator did not understand English but one thing was clear. There was a second person there. For a few seconds, noises she couldn't properly identify were coming from behind her, worrying her. Then, something big, that felt like leather, was put at the back of her head. And without so much as a single demand, a shot was fired.

Looking at the dead and unconscious girl on the ground, Naomi unwrapped her gun. “[Merci chérie.]” Calling her companion _sweetie_ was just only because she didn't know a lot of other terms. “[An assassin would not be this poorly trained. We're probably under attack.]” Speaking to someone else behind her, Naomi grabbed the dead girl by her arms and dragged her further into the shadows. “[You should go back to your base. Don't sound the alarms. If they managed to get in here undetected, just driving them off will be detrimental.]”

“[What will you do?]”

“[I'm gonna wake up some people and hunt them down, one by one. They're attempting to be stealthy and that will work in our favor.]” Naomi turned to her companion and took her hand. “[I'll make sure none of these crétins make it over there.]”

“S'il te plait fais attention, Naomi.” A swift, final kiss and the second of the two was gone, hurrying through the shadows towards Maginot's base.

 _I hope I don't end up a liar and this turns into a big firefight. But for them to attack the very night I have a date, unbelievable. First I need to wake up some people to halt the slaughter. Then I need to figure out how they are getting in here. I wish we could spend one night just sleeping soundly. If this keeps up, everyone will be worn out like fifteen year old sweaters in a few days._ And with her work cut out for her, Naomi stepped out of the shadows, bait for any attacker. She headed slowly towards the tent she knew housed Darjeeling and Kay. If something happened to them, it would be a disaster. They had to get this raid under control as quickly as possible and without raising much of a fuss.

Betraying her expectations, nobody attacked her. _Have they caught on to me being bait?_ Naomi sped up, walking as fast as she could without giving away that she was on to the infiltrators. _This is beyond odd. I refuse to believe there was only a single infiltrator, so where are the rest? It's almost like they are avoiding me on purpose. No, maybe they are. If they have the knowledge to get in here undetected, they would know about which of us to avoid. Those that scored in the top ten on the field exam. Attacking any of those without guns would be a huge risk. And with the deafening silence, a shot that is not point blank and with a gun wrapped in something thick would no doubt be heard across the base. Gunfire would alarm the entire base. That means they are looking to stay undetected. Does this mean they know they cannot win in an open fight? But why would they be so careful? If they have the information to get in here undetected, surely they could repeat that as many times as necessary. They would merely have to get new information on however we changed the base layout._ Naomi's thoughts were racing. Something didn't add up. The stealth of the attackers didn't make sense when put together with how careful they were.

Kay's awakening was abrupt to say the least. Someone slapped her face and not gently. For anyone else, they would gave risen in shock, ready to defend themselves. But Kay knew, on a subconscious level, that there were only two people that would ever be brazen enough to wake their commander like that. And they would only do this when the circumstances asked for it. Groaning, clearly annoyed, Kay looked at the shadow by her bedside. “What's going on?”

“[Mars, Uranus.]” Naomi used one of their codewords. They had about a dozen of those, all corresponding to specific situations and scenarios. This ones in particular meant _Enemy Attack_ and _Covert Operations_. A bad combination.

Rubbing her face with both her hands and groaning at the same time, Kay forced herself up, waking up Darjeeling in the process. “[Darling, we're under attack. We need-]”

“[Commander Darjeeling, there are a vast amount of important documents in this tent and it is impossible to properly keep them under luck. Someone will have to stay.]” Naomi didn't want **both** commanders out there. Losing one of them, however small the risk, would be catastrophic. Losing both would be the end. Alisa couldn't lead. Neither could she herself. Letting Assam take control might work for a while, but she was no replacement. “[I am going to go and get some of our top soldiers. Commander Darjeeling, does Assam-]”

“[She will know what to do. Wake her.]” Darjeeling didn't have the energy to listen to endless midnight reports. “[I will stay. Kay, get rid of those imbeciles out there. Naomi, who is attacking us?]”

“[Currently unknown.]” _I didn't recognize the uniform they wore. And I am not going to pull any guesses out of my ass._

Throwing on her clothes as quickly as she could, Kay reached for a large assault rifle, but Naomi cut her off. “[Large weapons will cause them to notice that something is off. If they make a run for it, we will-]”

“[Fine, fine, I don't need some long explanation. My brain isn't fully charged.]” Kay raised her hand, groaned and then slapped herself as hard as she could. “[God **damn** , that hurts! At least I'm more awake now.]”

“[Stick to knife and physical combat only.]” Naomi advised her commander.

There was no big emotional goodbye, Kay and Darjeeling understood that time was of the essence and they were not in some cliché war movie where time just stood still, waiting for them to finish being emotional. Stepping out into the cold, Kay and Naomi separated while Darjeeling stayed put, getting dressed and taking position next to the tent's entrance, ready to kill whoever would intrude.

Both Rosehip and Assam were, in one word, disgusted that they had to get up and defend the base. Assam was not a fighter but an intelligence officer, which meant she was responsible for picking out the most suitable infantry personnel from Gloriana to participate in raid defense. They had to catch every last one of the intruders to make sure there was no more risk of future infiltration by them. And to make sure of that, some of the intruders had to be kept alive. _Well, knocking them out might be a bit much, but I can probably get away with tying them up._

Much like invading force, Naomi quickly realized that there was absolute truth to _No plan survives contact with the enemy_. The defensive rings lit up shortly after she left the tent of the two Gloriana girls and she started to hear shorts being fired. _I wish I had brought a rifle at least_. But things were not what Naomi thought they were. The alarms went on right before she heard the first explosion – a tank shell that impacted the ground just outside the first defensive ring.

 _Seriously? **Now**?_ Naomi raced back towards Darjeeling's tent, noticing one of the French invaders on the way, shooting her four times in the chest as she ran past. _This has to have been planned!_ _Make us mobilize with light gear and distract us, then attack us openly._ Orders and information was already being delayed through shouts and radio, which told Naomi that Darjeeling must already be on top of the situation.

The word came down: Chi-Ha-Tan was attacking them with fourteen tanks, coming from the east. _The east? They should be encamped to our west, why would they drive around us? The west and east have the same level of fortification._

Kay had just arrived at the outer defense ring to the north and beaten down the French commander. She was still alive but would definitely have bruises and a blue eye tomorrow. Kay herself was pretty battered as well but her adrenaline was pumping after a fistfight. “[Watch her!]” Commanding two Gloriana guards to keep an eye on the captive commander, Kay jumped up the tank and immediately had to jump down again. A shell hit the tank she had just climbed, dangerously shaking but remaining intact. _Are they insane, firing on an encampment like this?_ Firing on anything within the defensive line was forbidden because it could result in serious injury. Hitting the defensive line was still okay but that was a very small margin of error. And Chi-Ha-Tan was not exactly known for their mastery of gunning.

“[ **Return** **fire**!]” Kay's patience had gone past a breaking point. Shouting her lungs off, Kay's order was relayed far and wide.

While Saunders and Gloriana were fighting a war on two fronts, amidst their own ranks and on the outside, Maginot had taken up arms themselves, sweeping into the Allied base like an uncontrollable flood of anger and vengeance, shooting anything without warning that did not wear a uniform of the Allies. A hundred soldiers poured into the base with no warning, no explanation and no mercy. Within the first minute the spread across the base, dragging their soldiers of BC Freedom from tents, from cover, from beneath tanks with little regard for their own safety and well being.

“Montrer aucune pitié! Gloire à la France! Montrez-leur le pouvoir des vraies femmes françaises!” Eclair's words propelled the soldiers of Maginot forward in a way that spurred the spirits of all those that saw it. _Show no mercy. Glory to France. Show them the power of true French women._ Eclair rejected Naomi's request, rejected the idea that she would merely save herself. She entered into an agreement to be the shield that protected the English and American people, and France would not stand by idle as they were under attack.

Eclair's people roared and shouted, feeling more alive than they had ever been. No more would they be called weak or cowardly. No more would they let the world look upon them as mere vassals of this alliance between two great nations. The time to step up, to step onto the stage of world powers had finally arrived. For each of them that fell to the frantic resistance of the traitorous French hailing from what had once been merely a satellite of Maginot, for each soldier that died beating down this spineless and ill-conceived attack they felt stronger for it. Glory came not through careful preservation or hiding in the shadow of those greater than yourself, no. She finally understand that as a leader, it was her duty to inspire, to make decisions that were not always easy, not always just and not always welcomed by those that served under her. But a great leader would be followed regardless. And right now, in this moment of time, she was just that.

“Kay! Darjeeling! Laissez-les nous! [Leave them to us! Maginot will be your shield and you shall be Maginot's sword and bow.]” Eclair knew that her words were exaggerated. That come morning, she would still be no more an equal to those two than she had been yesterday. But for just now, this instant, she **was** their equal and surely they would accept her for it.

With Maginot flooding the base, space was in short supply. Small firefights broke out everywhere and the Allies were desperately trying to dispatch as many tanks as they could get going. The approaching Chi-Ha-Tan force was in for a terrifying awakening. They came from the exact direction where Kay had parked the T28. Thunder rolled across the heaven when the metallic abomination fired, the sound of the shell leaving the barrel like the trumpet of destruction. The first shot missed but ripped a several meter large hole into the ground, forcing the enemy to break formation. “[Keep firing!]” Kay was going to blow them out of the sky, no matter the reason for their attack. She was too tired to even think about why Kinuyo Nishi would wage a night attack like this. It went against everything Chi-Ha-Tan stood for. _I guess that's why we didn't see this coming._

“[Commander, they're speeding up!]” The gunner that sat in the T28 with Kay was noticing that now. “[They're on direct collision course!]”

“[I don't care! We can literally drive over them with this thing!]” Kay was tired, pissed, exhausted and most of all, angry. _I thought you were an honorable woman, Nishi. I'm disappointed in you_.

Darjeeling was watching the approaching force from atop one of her own tanks and knew that something was not right. She knew that there was no way she could stop Kay without knowing **what** wasn't right. They couldn't just ignore an attack. But those tanks unmistakably belonged to Chi-Ha-Tan. _Unmistakably?_ Looking at the tanks as hard as she could, which was not as easy because half of the outer defense line was now firing on them, Darjeeling found several things strange. _They have so many more tanks than this. And why would they not conceal their army emblem on the hull? Even smearing mud over it would make it more difficult to discern their identity. It's almost like they want us to know that it is them. That does fall in line with Nishi's character however… an attack, now of all times when we are under attack from within? Can there be a coincidence this large? And why would the attacking force be so small? Furthermore, why is it taking them so long to fire?_ Watching them for a few more seconds, Darjeeling noticed that they were driving almost all in a straight line. _Not even Chi-Ha-Tan is this simplistic in their tactics._ _Could it be…?_

“[Radio!]” Darjeeling shouted and she didn't care who would hand her one. “[Kay, respond.]” Using the universal channel that all Alliance tanks were using unless specific instructions to change the channel were given, Darjeeling tried to get through to her enraged girlfriend. And she managed to reach her right after the T28 fired a second time and blew off the right-side chains of one of the Type 97 Chi-Ha that were approaching them. And despite that fatal damage, the tank kept going, driving blindly forward, on direct collision course with the enemy base. “[It's a trap. These tanks are most likely driven by one, at most two people. They are a distraction. I am watching from the inner defense ring, I will-]” Darjeeling had turned around by pure chance, because she was going to talk about the west, where she suspected the main force of Chi-Ha-Tan to come from. Without this stroke of luck, she would have never seen the Saunders' girl aiming at her with a handgun. The bullet grazed her shoulder as she let herself fall down to her knees.

Darjeeling might have looked like the type of girl that would be the damsel in distress, especially now that she was taking the loose cannon Kay, but that was far from the truth. On her knees, she used her arms to get in a jumping position and launched herself off the tank, correctly estimating that the attacker was hesitating for a moment and still exactly where she had been a moment before.

The girl wearing the Saunders uniform never saw it coming. Darjeeling, arms and head first, came flying off the tank, both of them smashing into the ground. Having to take the weight of two people, the traitor ached and was given no chance to recover. Her chest burst into agonizing pain when Darjeeling hit her solar plexus with enough force and precision that it seemed like she had specialized training. The truth was something else entirely however.

With the girl rendered helpless, and unarmed, Darjeeling shouted. “[Hostile captured!]” Within seconds, another girl from Saunders appeared, carrying a large rifle and immediately taking aim at the head of the captive girl. “[If she tries to escape, shoot her legs.]” Darjeeling couldn't believe they had assassins to deal with on top of all this.

Meanwhile, Kay was doing her best to avoid further damage. Four tanks had already committed suicide and driven right into the defensive ring. The damage was superficial because the Type-97 was not a siege breaker; it didn't have the necessary weight and force to drive back the tanks forming the defensive line. But it was damaging the tanks, especially the chains. The defensive line had taken out six of the remaining ten tanks, the last four had taken a detour and were now approaching from the north, seemingly only intent on crashing into the line.

Eclair had rounded up, so she believed, all of the BC Freedom soldiers. They had left not a single survivor, the situation didn't allow for it. Even if it did, after the speech she gave, after the words she spoke, there was no way she could ask them to use non-lethal force. _Forty-eight of them._ Telling half of her people to return to base and go through everything with a fine comb, Eclair had half of the remaining girls reinforce the guards on the defensive line, manning heavy machine guns and breaking parties that would pry the attackers from their tanks. Adrenaline was pumping through her so fiercely that she couldn't settle down.

But the dust was settling. The invaders were dealt with and Kay managed to stop the approaching tanks just thirty meters off the outer ring. Darjeeling's assassin was under heavy guard, albeit refusing to talk. It looked like everything was dealt with. But not quite.

A group of two, one from Gloriana and one from Saunders, was approaching, escorting a lightly wounded blonde. “[Commander Darjeeling!] Assam had been shot, right through her upper right arm. By the looks of it, with a weapon from Chi-Ha-Tan. “[I anticipated that within all of this chaos, someone would attempt to steal classified information and took position in front of your personal tent. I noticed too late that a group of at least three, wearing the Chi-Ha-Tan uniform, had cut into the tent from behind, bypassing my scope. I tried to pursue them but was fired upon. They fled towards the west, about two minutes ago.]” Assam gave her report in a way that combined her observations and brevity.

Darjeeling made an executive decision. “[Don't pursue. If their goal was our data from the beginning then all of this; the French attack, the suicide tanks, all of it. They will have measures in place that will cost us more lives if we haphazardly pursue them.]” Darjeeling was, so to speak, cutting her losses. “[Find out how many we lost and get the injured to the medics. Send Rosehip to come see me when she turns up.]”

Eclair sought out Darjeeling, accompanied by six armed French girls. “[Has everything been dealt with?]”

“[Thanks to you and your girls. You have my gratitude.]” _I will be dead soon if I cannot get a good night's rest within the next few days._ “[I can't believe Chi-Ha-Tan would do this. I will need to have a talk with Nishi. If you can spare anyone that is reasonably rested, please have them help with clean up, Eclair.]”

Darjeeling could not maintain an image of the infallible leader, not even visually. _I will have to thoroughly check what was taken. And I have to contact Chi-Ha-Tan, possibly to seek reparations. But I have a feeling that someone used them as cover. Someone… Pravda? But where would they have obtained the tanks and how would they have directed BC Freedom? The ones controlling information… I need sleep. I can't formulate a clear thought._ “[Kay!]” Darjeeling shouted and nearly jumped on the spot when someone put their hands over her eyes from behind right after. “[Don't do that.]” She didn't even need to hear the voice of the person that did it, she could tell just from her hands.

Looking past Darjeeling, Kay smiled at Eclair. “[You saved our bacon, Eclair. We'd be down a lot more people without you. How do you say _France has two great things; their women and their wine_ in French?]”

“[Don't bother, Eclair. Kay could not pronounce that correctly if her life depended on it.]” Darjeeling, still blinded by her girlfriend, decidedly stepped on Kay's right foot and got her to back off. “[If I am to function correctly as a commander by sunrise, I will need to go to sleep. Kay, you are coming with me. Now.]”

“[Ah, Kay, please, I am looking for Naomi, have you seen her?]” Eclair wanted to make sure that she was okay.

“[I saw her at the defensive ring. She's alive and kicking the hell out of those not-nice French girls. You know, maybe I'll take Darling on a date and come visit you lot at Maginot.]” Joking around because it was her way of dealing with stress, Kay hurried after Darjeeling, a massive and enduring yawn came from her. _I could sleep for twenty-four hours straight._

“Bonne nuit.” Eclair was glad that this was over with. And from the looks of it, she had definitely scored some respect points with everyone in Gloriana and Saunders, including the two commanders. Still she had no delusions of possibly winning a war against their combined efforts, but it was important to build good relations with other schools. This would hopefully not be the last of these tournaments and she hoped that their getting along with those two would pave the road for future alliances.

Returning to their tent, Darjeeling felt like someone sucked all of the little life that had remained right out of her in one go. Looking at the inside of the tent, it was too much. She had stopped for a few seconds, making Kay, right behind her, suspicious. As soon as Darjeeling stepped into the tent and Kay followed, the American knew what had caused her girlfriend to stop. “[Holy shit.]” Kay took a look around and then she just sat on the floor, with Darjeeling sitting on the field bed. “[They took everything. Inventory, deployment, personnel records, strategy, information on our enemies, everything. They robbed us blind.]”

“[That confirms that it was all a coordinated attack.]” Darjeeling felt dejected that she hadn't seen this coming. “[First they created a distraction within by leaking security information to BC Freedom. They anticipated I would subject an ambush or a trap, so they must have set up a diversion to further distract me. And finally, they sent an assassin after me. With all of this together, they used the situation to steal everything.]”

“[I'll whack you if you blame yourself for this on your own.]” Kay, hands behind her on the floor, leaned back, her legs stretched out. “[I rushed out of here even before you did. If you think this is all your fault that would mean it's all up to you to run the show around here and that's definitely not the case. No blaming yourself. I demand at least half the guilt.]”

Darjeeling wanted to get angry but couldn't. Kay's brutal honesty was too disarming. “[I concede, you can have all the blame then for rushing out ahead of me.]”

“[I see what you did there and I'm not letting that go! You get at least thirty percent of this mess!]” Kay managed to smile despite the situation. “[Ah, they **really** got the better of us this time.]”

“[Things had been proceeding too well for a while now. As with all things in life, our luck ran out at the worst possible time. To quote Qator Bashtar _How am I to continue on after a reprisal so vast_?]”

 _I know who that is, Darling. I'll get you for that one another day._ “[Well, not _I_ but _we_. So going on will not be impossible.]”

“[Being optimistic in this situation? Is there nothing that can kill your spirit, Kay?]”

“[If you dump me that would definitely break my spirit clean in half and bury one half across the horizon.]”

“[Melodramatic oaf.]” Darjeeling smiled and that was exactly what Kay had been gunning for.

“[Short of that, if I don't go to sleep within the next fifteen minutes I'm gonna lose my marbles. I'm gonna skip school and practice for a week and just eat and sleep and call you when this is all over.]”

“[You will be held back.]”

“[We're the winners of the first ever tankery war.]”

“[A little early and quite possibly the worst time to claim us as victors.]”

“[Even if our armies don't win, we two are clearly the winners.]”

“[If this war does not kill me, your embarrassing commentary will.]”

“[Embarrassing or not, it's the truth.]”

“Thank you.” Darjeeling broke protocol for just that one instance. “[I still cannot believe that Chi-Ha-Tan would be able to execute such a complicated- Kay, what are you doing?]”

Kay held her arms in front of her chest, crossed like an X. “[Enough thinking. It's the middle of the night. Sleepy sleepy time now.]”

“[You sound like a fool, Kay.]”

“[Just imagine how boring the world would be if it was chock full of only smart people. Shops would be sold out on chess boards all year round!]”

“[You have such a stereotypical view of smart people, Kay.]” _I love you, Kay. Even with all of this happening, you take the time to cheer me up. If I tried to blame myself and succumb to guilt, I would feel silly after hearing everything you said. I don't think I even could do that to begin with._ “[Should we even bother to undress?]”

“[You bet. Bad enough to had to stay up half the night, I am not giving up my skimpy cuddly time with my girlfriend.]”

“[You are **such** a pig, Kay.]” Darjeeling chuckled, then giggled. “[Come here then.]” Starting to take off her uniform, Darjeeling was glad that no fires had broken out. Setting fire to tents and such would have been a cruel but effective tactic to employ. _Maybe it speaks to the nature of whoever- no, no more thinking. Kay is right._

Not two minutes passed between the two of them lying down and them being asleep. Morning would come far too soon and far too cruelly no doubt. And their expectations were not betrayed. Morning came and the sun was almost obnoxiously bright and warm. Half their soldiers were too tired to even care where they slept. The corpses of the BC Freedom soldiers had been disposed of and the Maginot girls had gone above and beyond in helping with clean up. Four hours of sleep was all that was available to the soldiers of the Allied Forces. Their movements were sluggish, their moods dampened and their enthusiasm was on strike.

Eating a spartan breakfast on the go, Kay and Darjeeling met with Eclair first thing. Word about the total loss of their documents had gotten out, but it did little to actually worsen the atmosphere. Everyone felt reminded that everything was fair in love and war and no one's luck lasted forever. But it was not all gray and bleak even now. After the clean up, a small detachment of Maginot that had been particularly helpful to the Allies had handed over some valuable information; a supply crate had come down just about one kilometer outside the base. _Retrieve it_ , had been Darjeeling's only order before she sat down with Eclair and Kay to discuss the path ahead.

Sitting in a large open tent, the three commanders looked worn out. “[Let me begin by expressing our gratitude again. I fear we would have suffered large losses in the chaos if not for your intervention.]” She didn't give Eclair a chance to explain herself or respond at all. “[Going forward, I am hoping for continued collaboration. We need to address the issue of last night's raid in detail. Does either of you have any other matters that need immediate attention?]”

To the surprise of both Darjeeling and Eclair, Kay raised her hand. “[I vote we consider a consideration of our forces.]” Kay looked at their confused faces. “[I meant consolidation! Sorry, lack of sleep.]” Under normal circumstances she would have added _Darling kept me awake_ , but this was a very serious meeting. “[We should make the bath the new core of a combined base and move everything there. If they had the info to get into our base last night, they'll get in there again unless we fix that.]”

“[Kay, the logistical challenges of that are enormous. It will be difficult to split our supplies fairly between the two of us, never mind accounting for Maginot's own supplies and a three way arrangement.]” Darjeeling was not in favor of that.

“[Maginot knows we cannot win. It is shameful to admit, but Maginot does not have the resources or skill to beat Saunders and Gloriana in combat. As a commander, I have much to learn. If Maginot remains alone other than both of you, we will withdraw, knowing our limits.]” _It will save Maginot money and instead of being beaten, we will remain undefeated._ “[You English have a proverb for this, oui? To quit while ahead. It is my decision as commander.]”

Kay was about to say something fierce but Darjeeling cut her off. “[In a regular tankery battle, this would be cowardly. But in war, this is a valid choice to make. It might very well be Maginot's proof of valor that Saunders and Gloriana will survive. As such, any victory we accomplish will be shared with Maginot. While not officially so, the people will know and so will France. A great commander knows to pick their battles. You are already more wise than my precious hothead over there.]” Darjeeling enjoyed it when Kay pretended to be shocked and put on a performance of overly pouting.

“[Thank you.]” Eclair was happy that they saw her point of view. _To fight against old allies, the might of these two combined… I can scarcely think of one, perhaps two armies that could do this. The Russians or the Germans. But we lack the means and the wisdom to prevail. It hurts my pride greatly to go down without a fight, but I have to consider not just my own feelings or that of the soldiers I command but also the people back home. Maginot as a whole._

“[Personally I believe it is risky to move and consolidate our bases and forces now. However, I cannot deny that after Maginot's heroic rescue last night, they have more than earned our trust. Alliances are not a dictatorship, so if both of you feel that this will be beneficial, I will not disagree.]”

“[Now you and Naomi won't have to sneak around as much.]” Kay grinned like a complete idiot.

Eclair started to stammer in French and continued on until Darjeeling wiped that big grin off of Kay's face with a single glare. “[Moving on.]” Darjeeling felt her headache get worse when Eclair tried to stammer an excuse in French. “[Chi-Ha-Tan was either set up or got outside help for all of this. In the first scenario, we still need to contact them. The tanks that attacked us were unmistakably theirs. We could seek reparations but in the case of them having been used as a cover, it might worsen our relationship for no reason. If at all possible, I want them to remain neutral until the Axis has been dealt with. This also leaves the issue of Pravda still. Leaving Chi-Ha-Tan until last will be beneficial for us. To ascertain that they have only been setup, I will ask them to let us conduct a search of their base. The search itself is merely a cover to ascertain their behavior during the search. If they lied about being used, we will know. Chi-Ha-Tan is full of people who could not lie their way out of a paper bag.]”

“[And if they're guilty and got outside help?]” Kay was hoping that was not the case. Nishi seemed like an honorable girl and she didn't want to think of her as someone who used shady methods like these.

“[They will still lie about their involvement, most likely. Admitting outright that they attacked us with a third party will severely tarnish their reputation and worsen relations between us severely. In the worst case scenario, they might invite us in and try to strike at us there. That is why those that we will take with us are those wounded the worst last night.]”

“[I don't like where this is going. You know how I feel about tactics like that.]” Kay was no tactical genius and she didn't have to be to see what Darjeeling was getting at.

“[A number of them will be beyond recovery and their time is running out. They will be our way out should Chi-Ha-Tan strike at us while we are in their midst. Should they commit to those treacherous ways, it will quite literally blow up in their face.]”

“[Is there no scenario where we don't have to stoop to their level?]” Kay really was not on board with this.

“[Darjeeling is right.]” Eclair took the side of the British commander. “[Pride does not win war. To serve dutifully, to serve even at the cost of life, that is what it means to be soldat, oui?]”

“[I hate it when you two use logic against me.]” Kay was still upset about the idea of using suicide soldiers. “[I know you're right, but this is not how America should fight a war.]”

“[Wars are fought in whatever way necessary.]”

“[I know. But Darling-]” Kay knew this was not an argument she could win. “[Is there any point in winning if we have to win like this?]”

“[If we lose because we refuse to use the necessary means, it won't matter how proudly we adhered to moral doctrine. History is written by the victors and-]”

“[Are we really victors if we have to blow up our own people to win?]”

“[People that would succumb to injury, dying with the regret that they could not get back at those that attacked them.]”

Eclair felt like she was in the middle of a war zone. And inside her head, there was a war zone as well. To one side, a tiny school girl Eclair. To the other side, an equally tiny military commander Eclair. Both of them arguing back and forth for a while between upholding honor and defeating the enemy. “Calmez vous s'il vous plait.” She felt a bit embarrassed after having slipped back into French. “[Please calm down. Both of you have good points. But I think commander Darjeeling is right in that winning is more important.]”

Kay had half a mind to “[We have enough people, we don't need to-]” Kay just really didn't want to subscribe to this sacrificial plan.

“[If they were our only enemy left, I would agree with you. But you must see that we are no doubt going to lose more people as we move forward. Chi-Ha-Tan. The Axis. Pravda. They all stand against us and they are all formidable enemies.]”

Kay groaned like she was being tied up. “[I **hate** the rational approach!]”

“[I know I am intruding on the conversation, but- what… what if you explain up front to the soldiers what will happen and only those that are moralement satisfait will participate.]”

“[It seems that your plight and honorable nature has won over Eclair, Kay. You are such a womanizer.]”

Eclair blushed fiercely, opened her mouth and stammer in French as she raised her hands. “Non pas du tout! Tu as mal compris!”

“[I did not misunderstand you. I was merely poking fun at you. Ma faute.]” Darjeeling leaned back in her chair. “[But fun aside, Kay, I will agree to the compromise that Eclair put forth.]”

“[I'm not going to get you to back off the suicide soldier idea in general, right?]” Kay sighed. _I knew from the beginning I wasn't going to talk her out of this. Darling can be so stubborn when it comes to commanding. I still think this is a bad idea, but she's not entirely wrong. And-_ “[What are you two smiling about?]”

“[Nothing.]” Darjeeling looked at Eclair, who made every humanly possible effort to not look at either of them. “[I believe Eclair has grasped the core of your personality rather quickly.]”

But contrary to Darjeeling's expectations, Kay reacted calmly, leaning back. “[Simple. is. Best.]” Kay clicked her tongue and pointed at her girlfriend with just her index finger and thumb extended. “[What, at a loss of word? Kat got your tongue?]”

As much as the English and French despised each other they found common ground in groaning over the American's bad puns. “[If Chi-Ha-Tan, the Axis and Pravda do not kill me, your puns most definitely will.]”

“[I still can't believe Chi-Ha-Tan would betray us like this.]” Kay yawned and had a really strong impulse to put her feet on the table. _Darling would throw something at my head if I did that now._

“[I had not considered it until now, but it is possible that they are being pressured by a third party instead of merely receiving help or being used as scapegoats.]” _There are more possibilities still, but contemplating them endlessly won't really help. We have to_

“[How do diplomats do this without going crazy? And how did I ever think I was gonna do this on my own?]”

Eclair looked at them with a bit of jealousy in her eyes. _I share that sentiment. It was difficult enough to succeed as Maginot's general commander, but all this diplomacy? I'm glad these two are who I ran into. Especially Darjeeling. I feel I am learning a lot from her. Kay on the other hand… she's a capable commander, especially when it comes to decisions made on the fly. It is almost unfair, oui? To have one gifted in each side of war be united like this._

“[Chi-Ha-Tan will expect us soon. That means we should wait until later today, to break their concentration.]”

“[No disagreement there.]” _I need a second breakfast, some exercise and maybe a short nap if I'm going to go into combat and not drop dead. Oh no, don't yawn, don't yawn, keep it inside._ Kay's jaw trembled a little but she kept her impulse suppressed. “[So we're going to pay Chi-Ha-Tan a visit this afternoon. What about until then?]”

“[We rest. All of us. And don't think I did not see your jaw tremble with a yawn, Kay.]” Darjeeling snickered lightly at the surprised face her lover made. “[We all could use some more sleep. It will be impossible to approach the base unseen by day, so we should allow everyone that is not involved with repairs or minimum guard duty to get some rest.]”

“[In full agreement here.]” Kay just openly yawned now.

“[I am sure my troops will appreciate that as well.]” _And sacre bleu, no more night attacks please._

=== Tea and Cola ===

“Twenty-six point four clicks to target zone. Current ETA is two hours, sixteen minutes.” The regularly scheduled report came in through the radio operator. There was no unnecessary information and no dialect in her words, eliminating all possibility of misunderstandings and delays.

“Proceed as planned,” was her only response, her only order. _How unfortunate a location they have chosen, here at the very edge of the world. Luck was definitely not on their side. But it matters little. War is uncaring. It treats all equal and with the same abhorrent terror and brutality._ “Opening the hatch,” she announced, just before she climbed out, the winds of the battlefield greeting her. The smell of gunpowder, oil and grease. _Soon this will be the smell of blood, fire and death. They can only hope that their command realizes that some fights cannot be won. That living to fight another day was a valid way to operate._ Looking to the east, she saw the left flank of the unit she commanded, a net of death that would not allow even a rat to slip through. Heavy tanks, heavier still than most of the heavy tanks to begin with, rolled forward uncaring, to bring forth a certain demise to all those that would oppose. And she looked to the west, to the right flank of her unit. And she did not look behind, because for all purposes and measures, she was the edge of the world. Anything beyond, behind, was the void, untraveled and impossible to exist within.

Touching on the handgun on her waist, she felt an itch. After so long she finally wore a uniform again, she finally stood on the battlefield again. Although she loathed the reason, she loathed the ones giving the orders from up above, she couldn't loathe the excitement she felt. No matter who her enemy would be, she was going to destroy them. _To show mercy in war, in battle, is to disrespect both your enemy and yourself. To spare your enemy is without honor, and not only a disgrace to your enemy but also to yourself. To live with the knowledge, with the experience, of having utterly and completely destroyed those before you will make you stronger. No, to fight as if your life depends on it is to show respect to your enemy. To acknowledge their potential, their skill. All those that have made it this far are worthy of that acknowledgment._

It would not be long now before on the far horizon her first opponent would come in sight. Little did they know of her coming and little did they know of the destructive power she wielded. As the fools they were, they would fight her, no doubt. And she was counting on it.

_Show me a fight. Show me your guts, your courage and your skill. Show me everything you have and then some. Because this will be your final battle. There will be no survivors. Only the aftermath of an unstoppable force meeting an easily moved object. Show me **your** code of Bushido and let me judge you._

=== Panzer Halt ===


	10. Chapter 10

Death and destruction. Two words that are intrinsic to war, that are ingrained into the very concept. But not all death is equal, not all destruction alike. War brings out the worst of the two. No other type of conflict is so large, so encompassing and devouring. And there, in the darkest of times, in the moments when the cruel, horned and clawed beast that lurks inside all humans shows its abominable visage, that is when war truly becomes defined.

Smoldering tents. Wreckage of tanks, metal scraps and metal plating littering the scorched and trampled ground. The horrible silence after a battle, only interrupted by the creaking, crackling and breaking of the little that survived, be that wood, man or machine. Bodies on the ground, trapped in the wrecks of their broken contraptions, hanging upside down from the side of their vehicle, lying face down in the grass. Black smoke rising into the blue sky, signaling the massacre all beneath it.

Corpses dragged by their feet, searched for their dog tags without respect for the dead. Some of them covered in mud, covered in grease, covered in red. Their pride and devotion trampled upon, their ego broken and their resolve all but annihilated. They had not simply lost a fight, they had been destroyed. Their hopes, their dreams of a safe return home, simply gone to never return. Scarred eyes looking up at the sky, unmoving and yet the carnage that surrounded them in their last moments burned firmly within their sight. Death was them. Destruction was all around. Boots and machines still trampled the grass, the ground, the remains of what they had called their home. The boots and machines of those that had sprung on them were like nightmares from their own shadows, unrelenting, powerful beyond all imagination, truly monsters, undying and without the concept of mercy. Their eyes colder than the steel they commanded, their visages unmoving even in the face of the utmost resistance. They were like an army of ants in number and mind, every single one of them sweeping upon them like a demon, fearing nothing, never treating.

Their defense had been valiant. They had fought for their lives like only those that have no retreat behind them. Every meter, every step, every little bit of ground had to be claimed by their enemy, ripped from them by those monstrous hands. One by one, their comrades fell; shot, crushed, beaten and sliced to death. The enemy they faced knew not mercy, knew not reluctance and knew not the meaning of decency. For all they knew of war, for all they **thought** they knew of war, they were so sorely mistaken in their thinking. They still believed that their enemy, those they fought, were human. That they were living things. But their enemy, that abominable foe, did not think like them at all.

Their lines of defense were broken so easily, so swiftly, as if it was never there. They were outmatched in tactics, in experience, in numbers and most of all they could not match the ferocity and brutality of their opponent. It was not a matter of when they would break the final line of defense, of when they would annihilate every last one of them. Within minutes, they had all but broken their morale, their spirit. Even those that stood steadfast, that stood vigilant, valiant, unwavering, even they had fear written on their now frozen expression. Not merely the fear of dying, not simply the fear of being confronted by an enemy they could not beat. But the fear of that to fight back, that to turn the tide, they would have to become something that none of them were ready for.

It made little difference that their attackers were human just like them, flesh and blood, operating and wielding machines of their own design. To those that were routed, they were demons, covered in savage blood lust. If they still could tell tales, they surely would have described them as three meters tall, their skin black like oil and gunpowder, their eyes glowing red in broad daylight and their commander like the devil itself.

“Survivors?”

“One light tank. Their commander among them.” A soldier, half her face hidden by bandages. In her right hand, an assault rifle that had killed at least six people. In her left hand, twenty-five chains that had identity plates, dog tags, attached to them. “Luck was not on their side. Camping right within the borders of the initial suppressing area.” Handing over the dog tags to her commanding officer, the soldier briefly lowered just her head without bowing and then turned away.

 _That makes one hundred and seventy eight tags. That means there were no more than five survivors in that final tank that drove off after they realized they could not hold us off. Their commander has much to learn. The second she saw over a hundred tanks going into battle formation and approaching without so much as identification she should have ordered abandonment of the base and an evacuation. Only legendary commanders like Hannibal were capable of facing such a difference in numbers and experience. The second she decided that they should fight, their fate was sealed._ “Round up the bodies! Demolish everything without permanent value! Scorched Earth!” Shouting her orders, she received a loud and almost synchronous _Yes Ma'am_ from her troops in return.

 _It won't be long now before the news spreads. That from beyond their little world is coming an enemy that doesn't bleed or die as easily as they do. An enemy that even if they should all unite they would not be able to squash. But I am sure my foolish daughters will try nonetheless_. _Struggle and fight, Maho, Miho. Show me your determination, your skill, your growth._

As she stood there absorbed in her thoughts, she was approached by another soldier, this one without any injuries. “Commander. A message from the second punitive force.” Handing over a small radio, one that was clearly newer than world war two, the soldier stood at attention.

Taking the radio, Shiho answered. “Inferno one, Hellfire one.” It was the designation for her unit, the first punitive force that enforced a now ever shrinking area of warfare, and then her personal designation.

“Inferno two, Iceburn one.” The voice on the other end of the transmission was one that Shiho knew all too well. “Inferno two has arrived at the designated limitation zone as planned without engaging the enemy.”

Shiho listened to the transmission and looked at the soldier in front of her. “Losses?”

“Four dead, sixteen injured. Of those, all privates.” While they were the punitive force, they were bound to the rules of combat the same way as their much younger, school going compatriots. The extreme difference in losses came from the level of their preparedness, their machines and their experience. Adults, trained as professionals and some of them even serving in the actual JGSDF, were too much for high school girls.

“Chi-Ha-Tan refused to retreat and engaged us in combat. All but three are confirmed killed. The limitation perimeter is being established.”

“Shiporin! You just up and killed Chi-Ha-Tan?! You could have given them a warning first!”

Shiho's expression turned from serious to aghast to disbelief to annoyed in a matter of seconds and the soldier in front of her had the good sense to turn away and pretend she would not hear whatever was being said next. “Iceburn, if you could refrain from-”

“We're not part of the tournament, they're not listening in on this frequency. Shiporin, if we get a complaint from Chi-Ha-Tan later because you were itching for a fight and-”

“Chiyo-kichi, you were the one that was so excited to deploy that she went to the bathroom four times!”

“This and that are separate issues!”

Shiho's right eye twitched twice before she could collect herself. “This is all, Hellfire out.” Hanging up, Shiho almost wanted to throw the radio at the soldier in front of her. There was only one person in the world that got under her skin like this and of course she had to deploy with her.

Before she could even hand it to the soldier, who was still politely turned around, another transmission came in. It took all of Shiho's composure to not shout into the radio. “Inferno one, Hellfire.”

“Inferno three, Thunderstorm.”

Shiho breathed an annoyed sigh of relief. _Thank god it's Chouno and not Chiyo again_. Giving Chouno the same report as her girlfriend, Shiho waited for a reply.

“Inferno three spotted a number of enemies during approach but ultimately they moved out of the target zone before we reached our assigned position.”

“A number?”

“From what the lookout was able to discern, three.”

 _What were three solitary people doing all the way at the southern border? Our information didn't indicate that any army exists that far south._ “Keep me updated.”

“Hellfire, I am going to speak freely.” Ami sounded somewhat annoyed, much like Shiho. “I don't fully understand what your relationship with Shimada Chiyo is now, but I ask you to be professional.”

“Chouno.” Shiho's voice as cold as ice. “Have I ever been unprofessional?”

 _I am not going to answer that,_ the army woman thought. “The next move is in twenty four hours at six-hundred hours sharp. Thunderstorm out.” Hanging up on Shiho, Chouno breathed a sigh of relief and put the radio back where it belonged, the station inside the tank. _I don't approve of how all of this is going down. To close in on them with overwhelming force, without warning or explanation. The administration said it is supposed to mirror the involvement of a superior foreign power in a large war, much like the Americans joined the second world war late and then laid waste to everything. Still, I believe we could have simply declared zones off limits and disqualified teams. This is just spectacle for the audience at this point._ “I hope that those in my path will have the good sense of breaking camp.”

=== Tea and Cola ===

“[Sure is peaceful...]” Sitting on top of a tank, enjoying the strong breeze and the equally strong sunlight the day had brought, Kay was getting some much needed relaxation. “[Sleeping in was the best decision since kidnapping you.]”

Right there by her side was Darjeeling, enjoying one of the last cups of tea available to her. “[With how peaceful it is, I am quite expectant of fire to rain down at a moment's notice, that the ocean will split open and consume us, or that- Kay, what is the meaning of that look you are giving me?]”

“[Disdain. Disdain for nobles.]” Rocking back and forth for a little, sitting there cross legged and with her hands behind her on the metal roof of the tank, Kay hoped that her girlfriend hadn't jinxed her yet. “[It's still hard to swallow that we got outsmarted by the fools that don't know what a retreat is.]”

“[My, I believe you would fit right in at Chi-Ha-Tan if not for your blonde hair.]”

“[You don't like my hair color? Can you even imagine me with black hair? That would look **so** wrong, you know?]”

“[I will not even entertain the thought of a black haired version of you. It would bring shame to the Japanese.]”

There was but a breath of notice between saying that and dangerously shaking, her very self-control tested to the highest of limits, trying to contain her laughter and the tea within the cup. “[I- Stop, Kay, I command you- I am going to spill the tea! Kay, please!]” With ragged breathing and a flushed face, Darjeeling was spared from execution through tickling. “[I will remember this.]” Kay flexed her fingers and Darjeeling backed away, a contemptuous look in her eyes. “[Cease this foolishness this instant.]”

“[Who would have thought the lady Darjeeling had such a weakness?]” Flexing her fingers again, Kay faked an attempt to tickle her again but sparing her the agony of such. “[I wonder how often we will be able to enjoy peace like this before things get rough.]”

“[Rough?]” Darjeeling didn't follow Kay's jump to a different subject.

“[You know, the attack last night and everything that's been happening. I'd say we're just in the last big wilderness before the final dungeon and the final boss.]”

“[As usual, your analogies' meaning are quite lost to me.]”

“[The Axis is not gonna just sit around, now that they're all together. Kuromorimine, Ooarai and Bellwall is gonna be a tough nut to crack. And then there's Chi-Ha-Tan out there somewhere, not to mention Pravda. But hey, despite that big cloud of doom hanging over our heads-]”

“[Blade of doom. Derived from the Damocles Sword of fable, and-]” Darjeeling quickly returned to quietness when Kay made a threatening gesture that promised more tickling. “[Y-You're barbaric, threatening me like this.]”

“[I was gonna say _Even with that_ _ **cloud**_ _of doom hanging over our heads_ , I can't ask for anyone better to be by my side. But I guess I won't.]” Turning around and facing within the camp, Kay leaned back far enough to see the world beyond upside down. “[I am gonna give that stupid Nishi a greeting like she's never had.]”

“[Perhaps we ought to question her before you make a mess of things.]”

“[She'll just go _I'll give you_ _ **half**_ _the world and_ \- Oh come on Darling, you don't even know that? It's **the** classic of all classics! Dragon quest! The dragon lord!]”

“[Just what kind of education did you have as a child?]”

“[Hey!]”

“[Americans are quite obsessed with video games it seems. No wonder that your code words are such an overly flavorful mess.]”

“[Wow, no trash talking my carefully selected code words!]”

“[Kay, I love you with all of my heart and mind, but Saunders' code language is quite possible the greatest affront to military communication within the last half millennium.]”

“[With all your heart and mind?]” Kay's smirk could have split the heavens.

“[I will take that back if you do not stop smirking.]”

“[No take backs on pro… pro… Hold on just a second!]” Rolling over and pulling a truly tiny dictionary, with even tinier writing on the tiny pages, out of her pocket, Kay feverishly flipped the pages, found what she was looking for and turned back toward her girlfriend as if that just now had not happened at all. “[No take backs in proclamations of love!]”

“[A proclamation is a public announcement regarding matters of great importance, Kay.]”

“[So? You said it out loud, that's public! And I can't imagine anything of greater importance to me!]”

“[Your exaggeration no longer affects me.]”

“[Your face says otherwise.]” At the time, Darjeeling could not have known that Kay was lying right through her teeth. The very idea that she was blushing without knowing was what ended up making her blush and she realized that just seconds after Kay's face lit up with a dirty grin. “[Tricking a lady is most despicable.]”

“[I didn't say anything specific about your face though.]” Kay was getting a handle on how to pull a fast one on Darjeeling.

“[I am no longer talking to you.]” Finishing her tea a little quicker than she intended, Darjeeling got back on her feet and was ready to leave. But something caught her attention. “[Kay.]”

“[I thought you weren't gonna talk to me-]” She was interrupted by Darjeeling kicking her shoulder, saying her name once again, with clear distress in her voice.

Kay looked to where Darjeeling was looking, there in the distance, beyond the camp. There, on the green pastures that were so peaceful, a singular entity was approaching at high speed, kicking up dirt and grass in its wake. A single tank. It was too far to tell what kind or what nationality, but there was one thing that stood out enormously. “[A white flag.]” The words came out of Kay's throat with disbelief. Jumping up, Kay took a breath so deep that air filled her lungs to the brim. And in the next instant, a horribly shrill whistle alarmed not just anyone nearby but made them spring to action. The whistle was delayed and within moments, the base was on high alert.

As the tank came closer, one of their subordinates supplied both Darjeeling and Kay with information. “[A single Type-97 Chi-Ha, identifiable as belonging to Chi-Ha-Tan, is approaching at roughly 29 km/h, indicating that the tank is possibly damaged or intentionally not running at maximum speed.]”

“[Ready the approached base border to open fire at the sight of any conspicuous or suspicious behavior. I don't care if they have a white flag raised or not.]” Kay's orders were not rebutted by Darjeeling, even though they violated the military code of ethnics of both countries. A white flag was a universal sign of surrender even now, but in the days of night raids, abduction and theft, such things were not was they used to be.

Leaving their vantage point, the two commanders met with Eclair, who was looking positively antagonized by this news. “Ces imbéciles! Comment osent-ils montrer leur visage!” Ranting in incoherent French for a moment, Darjeeling didn't bother to translate for Kay. It was little more than Eclair acting out, insulting Chi-Ha-Tan and shouting how dare they were to show their faces. “[We shall fire upon them!]”

“[If they make any suspicious moves, we will fire on them, but not without provocation.]” Kay still retained a small modicum of decency and dignity.

“[I believe this is a more serious matter than both of you anticipate.]” Darjeeling's thoughts had raced from one conclusion to the next. “[The uncharacteristic attack on us. The stealth and layered redundancy of their plan. The approach of a single, surrendering tank now just before noon. In any case, I am interested in what they are planning by approaching us.]”

“[Whatever it is, we're going to pay them back for-]” Kay clicked her tongue when one of their soldiers came running towards them, shouting. Coming to a sliding stop, she tried to salute properly and Kay just waved at her. “[Talk.]”

“[The tank has come to a halt roughly seven hundred meters outside the outer most defense ring. Due to the already reduced speed and the way it came to a halt, our observes believe the tank has run out of fuel.]”

“[Has anyone left the vehicle? Any sight of other forces?]” Darjeeling questioned the soldier.

“[No and no.]”

“[Ready a light tank for departure.]” Darjeeling watched Kay's face show objection and before those could be voiced, she killed them at the root. “[The plain is large, flat and easily surveyed. There is nothing that can hide another tank or troops within 1500 to 2000 meters of it.]”

“[I'm coming with you.]” Kay was not going to let her partner go out there alone.

“[Naturally.]” Darjeeling remained stern as she said so.

Within fifteen minutes, a single light tank from Maginot, a Renault R39, chosen not for the speed or armor, both of which were lackluster, but because even if abandoned, it would only be a small, negligible loss. But as the tank got closer to the seemingly abandoned Chi-Ha-Tan vehicle, the occupants became restless. There was no movement to see anywhere, and no sign of those within the enemy vehicle emerging.

Even when the two tanks were side by side, _no movement_ was the only thing worth reporting. Darjeeling didn't trust this tank. _It's quite possible it is rigged with explosives and was driven her by some means of automation. But that would be quite an easily thwarted scheme. But I cannot rule it out. Still, we need to ascertain the contents of that vehicle._ “[Contact base, have a jeep drive up here and bring machinery to break open that tank.]”

Kay and Darjeeling waited in silence, the tank having driven away a good thirty meters to avoid a direct hit by a possible bomb. An assortment of six girls, four from Saunders and two from Gloriana, got to work on the tank. Checking the exterior for explosives was their first task, followed by trying to unlock the hatch conventionally. Finally, they had to resort to cutting through the hatch itself with specialized tools.

And what awaited the breaking crew was beyond their imagination. One of the girls staggered backyards, falling off the tank, hitting the ground hard and rolling over, covering her mouth. Another just fell flat on her butt, covering her mouth as well. The remaining four displayed various levels of disgust and quickly waved towards the tank that housed their commanders.

Kay and Darjeeling didn't wait for the tank to drive, left on their own and ran towards the unknown. They were greeted by the particular type of stench that only existed on the battlefield. Darjeeling had to cover her mouth and nose while Kay withstood the smell that came from within the tank.

Down there, in the dark, were bodies, riddled with wounds and a powerful smell of death, sweat, gunpowder, blood and other things emanating from within. And from what Kay could see, nobody was moving. Without asking any questions, Kay climbed into the tank, the stench now overwhelming, her gag reflex just barely suppressed. _What the hell happened here?_ Being inside, Kay prodded the soldier that was leaned against the wall where the gunner would sit. Not even a groan came from her. _Dead._ “[One confirmed dead!]” Dragging the body from where it was, Kay shoved it a little up the ladder, where two other soldiers grabbed the corpse just under the arms, lifting it out.

The next body she tried was the radio operator right behind her, the girl hunched over her machine. Prodding her once, then shaking her, Kay still got no response and it became clear why when she pulled the body back. Her entire face was covered in red and her scalp was wet. _She must have fainted and bled out after she got in here._ The sight of the enemy combatant being in this condition turned Kay's stomach. _This is way but… to die this way is inhumane._ Lifting her out of the tank was a bit of a challenge because she smelled quite strongly of dirt and something Kay couldn't place.

The next one she tried was a girl on the ground, whom she had carefully stepped around. She had little hope that someone on the floor like that was still alive, so she hadn't bothered until now. Turning her over, she found a large gaping wound on the right side of her throat, her left hand covered in red, just like her throat and uniform. _Shot in the neck…_

There were only two more and at this point, Kay had little hope that there was anyone that had survived. The driver and a girl hunched against the back of the commander's seat. Trying the driver first, merely because someone had to have driven the tank until here, Kay prodded her, then shook her, and to her surprise, she got a response. A muffled groan, a wet, drowning cough accompanied a shaking body that couldn't move on its own anymore. “[We got a survivor!]” Kay shouted. “[Get a medic to come in from base **now**!]” _There is no way this is a trap. Chi-Ha-Tan would not sacrifice their own people like this._

The girl, clearly on the verge of death, coughed violently and seemed to choke on her own blood from trying to say something. Chi-Ha-Tan being the Japanese army, she spoke in Japanese. “The… commander… help… her...” Raising her arm in what seemed to be pure agony, the driver pointed at the commander's seat, a girl with long hair hunched over behind it, before she fell off the chair.

Despite Kay catching her, breaking her fall, the driver's eyes were vacant and empty now. Kay had difficult breathing, difficulty swallowing. She had fought, she had killed and she had made hard decisions before. But this was the first time that someone had died right in front of her. She was the only one that had heard her dying words. And even though she was supposed to be an enemy, Kay couldn't hate her.

Putting her down for now, Kay attended to the girl she had ignored until now. She was hunched over so badly that Kay could not see her face, only a curtain of black hair that was oh so characteristic of the girls at Chi-Ha-Tan and so she hadn't thought much of it. But pushing her up, gently, Kay recognized the bloody face of Chi-Ha-Tan's commander. Her entire body was covered in blood, her uniform a grotesque dark red, a horrible smell coming from her. _There's no way she's…_ Slapping the commander's cheek, Kay was surprised when she received a groaning reply. “[Where is that medic?!]”

“[Kay what is the situation in there?]” Darjeeling was looking down from above, unable to fully make out what was happening.

“[Nishi! Nishi is down here and barely alive!]” Kay couldn't believe that she thought about this as a positive thing. “[Hey, Nishi, what happened to you lot? Why are you here?]”

But Kay's words were just met by groaning and disorientation. The sensation of someone dying right in front of her was still vivid in her mind and she didn't want to go through that twice within minutes. “[Where is that bloody medic?!]”

The medic arrived only thirty seconds later and within a minute, Kay was back out on the tank, pale and a little bit shaken. “[I never thought seeing someone die up close would affect me so much.]”

“[All of this matches my worst assumptions. Someone stole from Chi-Ha-Tan to stage the assault on us and then decimated them. Accounting for their numbers and those who are left, I believe this has to be the work of Pravda.]”

“[Did you see the state the bodies were in?]” Kay was sitting on the tank, while Darjeeling was standing. “[Would even Pravda be that violent?]”

“[They might have sustained those wounds in a fire fight. If Nishi is in there, their base must have fallen. She would not escape if not all was lost.]”

“[Now that I'm not up close to it anymore, I am getting goosebumps thinking about the blood covered face of the radio operator or the horrible hole in the throat of what was probably their loader.]” Kay felt sick to her stomach. “[We're all guilty of murder here, it's war after all, but this just doesn't feel right. It's excessive. Nishi was covered in so much blood, it's impossible for all of it to be her own.]”

“[Leave us. Get back to base and arrange for the bodies to be rinsed off at the very least before we put them down.]” Darjeeling waited for everyone to leave and knelt next to Kay. “[I know this must be difficult, but war brings out great darkness within people. Whoever did this to Chi-Ha-Tan, they will not escape unscathed.]”

“[I feel like a movie character saying this but… my gut tells me that wasn't done by anyone normal. They must all have been alive in some way when they got into that tank, but now they're all dead. Just thinking about what could be so bad that soldiers from Chi-Ha-Tan would run away with their tail between their legs makes me feel ill. Everyone makes fun of them for never retreating and always ending up defeated because of it, but in some way, it's bravery. So think about what could be so bad that those brave idiots would run away, commander included.]” Despite the sun being high in the sky, Kay trembled a little. “[It's like there are monsters out there.]”

“[You think the Axis did this to them? Kuromorimine certainly seems like they could be heartless enough to do something like this.]”

“[If Nishi makes it, we'll find out.]” Looking straight at Darjeeling, the American smiled awkwardly. “[I had to open my damn mouth about there not being any more peaceful moments.]”

“[You are hereby formally banned from any more commentary that might doom us.]” Darjeeling took her partner's hand as she said so. “[To put it in your words Kay, get a grip. You are the Kinuyo Nishi of Saunders. If your morale breaks, if you are afraid, then so will be everyone else.]”

Kay sighed a little, then sighed heavily and finally slapped her own cheeks loud enough that it was like a bullet being fired. “[We'll get the bastards that did this, right?]”

“[One thing at a time. We will have to learn who they are before we can get them.]”

“[We'll just kick everyone's ass and that way we can be sure! You can call me Yoyo from now on.]”

“[Kay, I will disown you if-]”

“[Because I bounce back so quickly.]”

Darjeeling's face did a funny thing where it distorted in anger and yet, she couldn't help but grin at her partner's optimism and ability to joke in a situation like this. “[For now we will wait on whether Nishi will survive. A plan of action will follow the outcome of this situation.]”

=== Tea and Cola ===

Kinuyo Nishi was moved from the confines of her tank to the headquarters of the allied forces shortly after Kay regained her enthusiasm. A map that depicted the location of the Chi-Ha-Tan camp as well as other strategic points was found in the tank as well, in moderate condition. Darjeeling dispatched a number of their soldiers to track down the site of the base and ascertain what had transpired there in case Nishi would not live through the day and succumb to her injuries. This group of subordinates was led and commanded by Assam, with Rosehip by her side. Four girls from Saunders and three more from Gloriana formed a search and investigate coalition that had just now reached far enough into neutral territory to see smoke rising into the sky where Chi-Ha-Tan's base was supposed to be.

“[That's not a good sign.]” Rosehip was one of two soldiers on top of the tank, watching the area through binoculars, the other girl from Saunders and covering mostly their rear. “[Heavy black smoke up ahead, directly in the path of the target coordinates.]” Relaying the information to Assam, Rosehip felt her blood boil. They had all seen the bloodied bodies that had been retrieved from the tank. Their state had been likened to that of corpses mauled by wild animals.

“[Go into reverse and drive the tank into the forest patch at 9 o' clock.]” Assam didn't want to alert whoever might still be at the battlefield. _Commander Darjeeling gave me explicit orders to bring everyone back alive, even if it means aborting the mission. But for now…_ “[Prepare for dismount and infantry operation. Light gear only. Silent protocol from here on out.]”

The nine of them, took a significant detour through patches of forest to the west of the Chi-Ha-Tan base, with two girls from Saunders at the helm and Rosehip covering their rear. Using trees as cover, they were within sight of the base after fifteen minutes of ground operation. “[Cover.]” Assam directed the girls with just gestures – the three from Gloriana getting in position for cover fire in case of an enemy attack. Assam and Rosehip themselves slowly advancing with the four girls from Saunders, crawling through the bushes. The first thing they all noticed was the smell. _Something is still burning,_ they all thought. Rosehip felt a little out of place in a mission like this, but Assam had specifically asked for her. When push came to shove, Rosehip would be able to escape on her own, on foot if necessary. It was not just her way of commanding a tank that spoke of her addiction to great speed.

Getting closer, they could finally see past the trees and the base proper. And what a sight it was. _It's completely in ruins. Tents, tanks, storage crates, it's all trashed. And there's people!_ Assam showed everyone a quick hand sign and they all covered even more, making themselves as close to invisible as possible in the bushes and between the trees. Carefully taking the binoculars she wore around her neck, Assam got the first good luck at the people that had destroyed everything.

Every single hair on her arms, neck and legs stood up when she identified the aggressors, their weapons and machines. She didn't need to be embroiled in an actual conflict with them to understand. No, even without that, fear grabbed hold of her heart just fine. Her intellect didn't serve her now, it worked against her. “[Why are they here...]” Questioning their presence under her breath, Assam caught a quick look of their leader. And when fear had grabbed hold of her before, now it was terror. She had participated in many tankery battles, in many prolonged conflicts and she had met many outstanding officers. And most of all, she served under Darjeeling, who she believed to be a genius at commanding. And even so, even with all that experience, what she looked upon put all of that to shame. A single look was enough to tell her that some things transcended normal human understanding. “[Nishizumi… Shiho...]” A retired pro league commander that was legendary for her ruthlessness and a policy of no mercy. _What, what is she doing here? Why is she leading the pro league? Why did they destroy Chi-Ha-Tan? What is going on?_ Assam noticed how riled up she was when her vision shook – her hands were shaking and so was the binocular. Looking down, at the ground, she tried to calm herself.

 _There has to be an explanation for this. For their being here, for the destruction of Chi-Ha-Tan. Did they violate the rules and were destroyed for that? But that doesn't make sense. They could simply be disqualified. And Nishi and the others all adhered to the rules still. No, there has to be something else going on here._ Looking up again, Assam had lost track of the adult Nishizumi. _We cannot infiltrate them because the troops are entirely composed of adults. And their uniform is different as well. Isn't that the actual uniform of the JGSDF?_ Looking around, Assam was unable to find the enemy commander again. Focusing on the common soldier instead, Assam realized that the weapons and even the tanks they were using were all adhering to the standard pro league restrictions. _So they destroyed Chi-Ha-Tan seemingly effortlessly while using the same machines and weapons that are available to everyone? That's a frightening difference in skill_. _But with lady Darjeeling commanding us… No, the enemy is Nishizumi Shiho. **That** Nishizumi Shiho. I heard rumors about her rising through the ranks by being the final survivor against an army of sixteen and taking out all of her enemies with just one tank. The black demon that never misses a shot._ After spending years and years hearing about how dreadful and one sided battles were that Nishizumi Shiho participated in, Assam found that logic really didn't have much of a say in her interpretation of that woman and her capabilities.

“[Retreat.]” Assam's voice didn't reach anyone but Rosehip at first. Then she signaled the others, who had been making their own observations. As quietly as they had come they left, thinking themselves safe and sound. But this was merely their delusion.

Nishizumi Shiho was sitting further in the camp, on top of a large wooden crate that had survived the onslaught. She had nothing to do in particular so she read the combat reports of Kuromorimine and Ooarai since the war had started. For her, an enjoyable past time that illustrated how much her daughters had grown or had yet to grow. Also, it allowed her to claim she was busy reading important documents so Chiyo wouldn't call her four times an hour.

“The intruders have retreated.” The report came to Shiho as no surprise.

Earlier, her security had reported an undefined group of intruders heading through the forests towards their camp. Shiho had foreseen the forests around their current position being a possible security risks so she positioned snipers with radios within the trees. “Affiliation and numbers?”

“Gloriana, five. Two were left behind a quarter click out. Possibly security for a retreat. Saunders, four.” The soldier making the report was someone from the actual JSDF, who had served for six years. Taking part in this war game was not exactly what she had in mind when she signed up to serve. Doubly so because they were essentially beating on children. But orders were orders and as much as she would have liked to discredit the woman that was giving her orders, Nishizumi Shiho was famous for her military genius even in the actual JSDF.

“Proximity?” Shiho was very much a stickler for the rules.

“They came within fifteen meters of the boundary. As per your orders, we did not engage.” _It would have been simple to put all of them out of the game_. As a proper soldier, no matter what the rules said, she would not think about what they did as _killing_. Anyone with actual military training wouldn't be able to confuse what they did here with real, deadly warfare.

“That is all. Dismissed.” Shiho paused reading the records and started to think. _Gloriana and Saunders. According to our data, we will reach their location within three days. Their appearance now is no coincidence. The escaped vehicle must have reached an area that the allied forces control. That is unfortunate but not beyond the margin of acceptable error. That girl from Gloriana… what was her name? Darjeeling, I believe. From the way she conducts herself, she lacks a decisive drive for victory in war, but she is otherwise somewhat capable. Given her influence over the Saunders girl, they will most likely opt out of fighting our advance. The Maginot girl will not attempt to mount a defense of her own. Within five days at most, this battle will be concluded_.

Shiho returned to reading the combat records for a moment, then spoke up. “Private Higashi.” Shiho was glad she didn't have to speak in a different language. As far as the official tournament factions were concerned, she was one of three leaders of the Imperial Japanese Army, striking down all opposition if they should not flee.

A soldier in her mid-twenties with dark hair stepped forward, having stood guard a few meters away. “Yes Ma'am?”

“Get HQ on the line.”

“Ma'am?” The soldier was confused by this order that lacked a clear explanation and waited around just long enough for Shiho to look up from my documents. And she felt like an enormous snake was staring her down, ready to eat her. No words had to be spoken for her to realize she was expected to simply execute the order without questioning it.

Three clicks away, Assam finally felt the pressure of the new enemy pass. And finally, she lifted her earlier order of silence. “[What is the… what do I even call them?]” Assam was thinking out loud, for herself, for the sake of ordering her thoughts.

“[Their tanks bore the insignia of the Imperial Japanese Army, the rising sun flag.]” One of the Saunders' girls, with short blonde hair, spoke up. It was quite cramped inside the tank with so many people, but their commanders had insisted both on using only one tank and having an armed party with the Gloriana scouts.

“[The Imperial Japanese Army?]” _That does explain the sheer force and brutality they displayed. Not to mention that they are made up of professionals._ “[What is the IJA doing here then? They bear no involvement in this conflict.]”

“[Your guess is as good as mine,]” the same girl from Saunders replied. “[But at least we know who made short work out of Chi-Ha-Tan now.]”

“[You're taking this pretty well.]” One of the girls from Gloriana, a brunette with a brain, was having trouble keeping her hands from shaking. “[You saw her, didn't you? The demon that has metal flowing through her veins.]”

“[I did. But freaking out won't help.]”

 _I can tell she served under Kay. She has that same attitude that our Lady Darjeeling seems to find so comforting._ “[In any case, we need to report back to base. Possibly get a highly mobile surveillance unit out here to monitor the situation.]”

“[Hey, you think the Imperial Army showed up because they got tired of sitting around and doing nothing?]” Rosehip didn't realize just how close to the truth her idea was.

“[They would require a much more… pressing reason than that. The Japanese government would not deploy them so easily. Not in a global conflict of this magnitude.]” _It's a little bothersome to be creative with this. The pro league is invading our battle, but we can't treat it like that. It would completely ruin the immersion for everyone._

“[No, no, maybe it's **because** it's such a big war. They couldn't stand seeing Chi-Ha-Tan drop the ball and stepped in.]” Rosehip looked proud that she had gotten that saying correctly. “[Maybe they went after Ooarai too.]”

 _If they went after Ooarai, they would also clash with Bellwall and Kuromorimine. Even the pro league would have a hard time taking all three of them on at once. It would be different if they had Nishizumi Shiho to command them, but…_ “[For the time being we need more information. Speculation will get us nowhere. I am the ranking officer of this mission and I am deeming it too dangerous to leave anyone behind to observe the IJA. We are returning to base.]” _I have a really bad feeling about all of this. Whatever they are here for, taking them on unprepared and in a direct fight is absolutely suicide. We might be able to whittle them down some in a tankery match through our sheer numbers, but if they storm the base and it turns into a fire fight, we… wait.. Without the pro league training in infantry operations, we might have an advantage. Even though they are physically superior, we have a greater understanding of the weapons and procedure._

The overly crowded tank departed with Assam still deep in thought. _But what if this was designed to happen from the beginning? No, they would have definitely had to disclose something like this. And the fact that they are seemingly just idling at the ruins of Chi-Ha-Tan's base is bothering me. What reason do they have to just be there instead of pressing on while the element of surprise is still on their side? Their commander is not known to be a woman indulging in arrogance or overconfidence. No, there has to be some other reason. Thinking about this logically, there is really only one explanation for their stay there. They were ordered to. But who could give orders to Nishizumi Shiho? The tankery federation director? But is that really a person that is capable of directing an army? And even so, what would his reason for doing this be? To create tension on the battlefield? Why not announce their arrival then? Why destroy Chi-Ha-Tan, the Japanese representatives? And why display the flag of the Imperial Army? The more I think about this, the more question I have. Why now? Why there? Why aren't they moving? And there is something else that bothers me. The how. I didn't get a good look at their numbers, but even the IJA cannot make war without machinery and equipment. And where did that come from? Spares that were on board? That would be some excessive reserves. Privately owned vehicles? There shouldn't be enough of those to form an army, certainly not one so unified. Were they specifically brought in? But from where? Did the professional league order them shipped? Were they brought in before, making this a planned incursion? Now I am back to the why and why now. I simply don't have enough information._

“[Assam.]” Rosehip saw the deep frown on her girlfriend's face and tried to distract her by poking her hand.

“[We are still on mission, Rosehip.]” Assam wouldn't have any of it.

“[I know, I know. So I was thinking-]” The entire tank gasped in surprise. “[I am going to remember every single one of you. I'll make a list.]” Rosehip felt a little grumpy. She would take that kind of talk from Assam and Lady Darjeeling, maybe even from Ranko, but definitely not from those below her in rank. “[I was thinking, what if they're not the only ones out there? There is also… you know, that other army.]” Rosehip tried with amazing power to communicate _the university league_ through just her eyes and she felt immensely accomplished when Assam picked up on it.

“[That would be quite a problem. But the battlefield is very large. We have no possible way to survey all of it. Even if we conducted a search sector by sector, they might simply go around us. But you're right… if there is another branch of the IJA out there, possibly on the other side, we might be in more immediate danger than we thought.]” _Their idling there might be a distraction so we let down our guard or shift our defensive focus towards that side when the university league is on the other end. There is no basis for this other than that we cannot rule it out. More pressing still is the scenario that much like Nishizumi Shiho, the university league might be commanded by Shimada Chiyo. Between those two, Shimada might be even worse than Nishizumi, given the circumstances and options available in this war._ _Thankfully those two are quite hateful of each other. It would be a nightmare come true to have them work together. Perhaps we can deal with them one at a time. Maybe set things up so that the Axis becomes their next target instead, diminishing their numbers. Their… numbers. Are they even bound to the same rules as we are? I am getting nowhere. I need more information._

Back at the base of the allied forces, Kay and Darjeeling were receiving some uncomfortable news. “[Her injuries are severe. If we could get her to a hospital, that would be one thing, but out here, there is not a lot I can do.]” Gloriana employed six medics while Saunders had eight. Among those fourteen combined, two stood out as especially knowledgeable.

The medics had a largely thankless role in the war. Ascertaining the level and severity of injury and whether someone was fit to continue serving or not. Given the nature of the war and their fight, they had to take a special morality test where their impartiality was tested. Much like any other doctor or medic, the patient came first and allegiance to their army came second. Despite all of that, being a medic also meant being qualified to take life saving measures out on the battlefield. A double-edged blade.

Kay hesitated to open her mouth and say the words that needed saying. By the time she found her resolve, Darjeeling had taken the burden upon herself. “[We need to question her. Is there any way by which you can make her regain lucidity?]”

“[Not without most likely killing her shortly thereafter.]” The medic, the head medic from Saunders, wasn't comfortable with the idea of robbing a patient of the few hours they had left. But those hours would be filled with agony, internal bleeding and delirium. And she understood the importance of questioning Kinuyo Nishi. “[I will bring her around. Please wait for a moment.]”

“[Sorry.]” Kay apologized on the spot, more disappointed in her herself than anything else. “[Stuff like that should be my job, and-]”

“[Do you understand why it is that we both complement each other?]”

“[Because we're super duper in love?]”

Darjeeling could tell that Kay really didn't understand. “[Not compliment. Complement. Why we are more together than just the sum of our qualities.]” And after a moment of telling silence, Darjeeling continued. “[You are full of enthusiasm and vigor. You inspire the troops in a way I cannot. But you lack greater judgment and the stomach to make harder choices. That is why I asked the medic and why you hesitated. I am the mind, you are the heart of our army.]”

“[It's pretty rude to say I have no mind.]”

Darjeeling stepped on Kay's foot as covertly and strongly as possible. “[Quiet, you buffoon.]”

“[If we had an extra tank for every single way you call me a buffoon, we would already have won.]” Kay just took the pain of Darjeeling grinding her heel on her foot like a real soldier.

The medic came back out of the tent. “[She's lucid. I gave her adrenaline, magnesium sulphate and calcium chloride will most likely cause deadly hemorrhaging within a few minutes.]” The medic's expression was grim and her face was a little pale when she sat down on a nearby wooden crate, contemplating that she had basically just killed an enemy commander under her care.

Nishi's breathing was ragged and despite being lucid, she was metaphorically chained to the field bed. “[Darjeeling, Kay. L-Listen.]” Coughing briefly, Nishi tried to at least sit up but failed miserably, breaking into a more intense cough.

“[Who attacked you?]” Darjeeling was leading the questioning.

“[The Imperial Japanese Army.]” Nishi understood that even now she couldn't break the rules. Death was coming towards her swiftly. “[To end up like this after fleeing and leaving my subordinates behind to die for me… shame over shame upon me. How can I ever hope to f-face-]”

“[Tell me about the Imperial Army.]” Darjeeling realized that her scouts might be in serious danger.

“[They're beyond human.]” Nishi lost a significant chunk of her color, turning pale like a ghost. “[Tall, strong, unified. Tenacious, merciless, seemingly immune to fear and pain. They're like demons, commanded by the devil herself.]”

“[The devil?]” Kay didn't like the sound of that.

“[The woman said to crush her enemies so thoroughly that not even their soul remains.] Chi-Ha-Tan had their own rumors and nicknames for that woman. “[It was horrible. Silent, like puppets, they struck down my people. There was no stopping them. I wished to die among my sisters in arms, in battle, with glory. Yet, wounded and unable to resist, I was taken away, betrayed, by my own soldiers. A courageous mission to tell the closest force of the plague that was devouring us alive. That's what they called it.]” Nishi paused for a moment. “[It seems they fulfilled their mission.]”

“[We will see to it that their bodies are returned to your homeland.]” Kay was the one that figured out a nice way to tell her that they were already released.

“[I know how this will sound… how ironic it is of me to say this...]” Nishi's eyes suddenly flew wide open and she grabbed Kay's left wrist as hard as she could. “[Don't fight them! They overran us like we were nothing! They're not an enemy we can beat!]” Her eyes wandered for just a moment before she launched into a horrible coughing fit that lasted for all of seven seconds before she lay motionless, with mouth and eyes still open, on the field bed for a long moment.

One of the medics moved both of the commanders out of the tent just after Nishi had passed on. It was extremely rare for anyone but the medics to be present when someone was declared unfit to continue or declared dead, so they didn't exactly know what to do with their chiefs in commands other than get them out of the way so they could do their job.

“[We didn't really learn a lot.]” Kay was disappointed and a little weirded out by how that had gone. _We definitely need better rules for instances like this. I saw one of the medics tapping their wrist to tell Nishi that time was up._ “[The Imperial Japanese Army? Was there an army like that?]”

“[There is now. Which is worrying me quite a lot.]”

“[Think we should send someone after Assam?]”

“[Assam is quite capable to take care of herself. If they are as dangerous as Nishi made it seem, she will know to retreat without engaging them in any way.]”

“[You know who would be real handy to have around right about now?]”

“[The information brokers.]”

“[Stop reading my mind, I wanna look clever once in a while.]”

With Kinuyo Nishi and the five escapees from the battle dead, Chi-Ha-Tan was no longer a player in the war. Within hours they had turned from an important force suspected of pulling a significant fast one on the allies into a memory. Nishi's body was not even cold yet when Assam returned, loaded with enough questions to last a very long conversation.

Ten minutes after Assam's return, the three commanders and Assam had confined themselves in one of the larger tents, discussing what Assam had seen and what Nishi had said.

“[Considering the economic ramifications of this war, the IJA most likely stepped in to bring it to a close. Their overwhelming force is no surprise, considering.]”

“[The economic what?]” Kay didn't want to look this up in a dictionary, not now.

“[Our being here, all of us. Pravda, Kuromorimine, Bellwall, Ooarai, Saunders, Gloriana and Maginot. We are putting a great economic strain on our homelands. War is quite expensive and considering we are using the regional territory of the Japanese for our conflict it stands to reason that they are the ones most severely affected by it. In turn, they mounted a defense that-]” Darjeeling could see that both Eclair and Kay weren't able to follow her. Wiggling her index finger, having them come closer, she started over, with a quiet voice.

“The contest has gone on for longer than planned. They most likely didn't expect it to last this long. The media coverage, the carrier itself, all the schools, this all costs a ton of money. And we are probably running in overtime right now. So they sent in the professional league to put an end to the battle. There's a number of possibilities of how they are going to do it, but the one I believe to have the highest likelihood of being true is that they will gradually shrink the territory accessible to the remaining players. Assam said that Rosehip suggested that the college league might also be involved somewhere else. I find that to be highly likely. A one-sided elimination of territory would be the very definition of stacking the odds against certain schools. So I suspect they have two to four armies out there, taking over territory.”

“How do you know all that?” Kay was even more impressed than usual.

“I do not actually _know_ this, it is my best estimate of the current situation. To start, the administration most likely never expected different schools to form alliances. Kay's abduction and forceful seduction of me set off a chain reaction because no matter how large a school, fighting both Saunders and Gloriana combined without an ally of their own would be foolish. Then the weather stopped cooperating. Further, the information brokers seem to be deliberately creating mayhem among the other schools. All these factors together are pointing towards this contest lasting much longer than it was supposed to. That by itself would not be an issue if they had rules in place for such a contingency, but they do not. That means they need to bring the battle to a close. On the other hand, they cannot simply call it off after this much tension between schools has been created. All of our schools would put in complaints, not to mention that Japan, the host country of this first war game, would look quite incompetent. The Imperial Japanese Flag was most likely used to make it seem like this involvement of the professional league is like a foreign and planned incursion. Like a natural countdown that gradually diminishes the available territory.”

The three that were inside the tent with her all stared at her with great intensity after that lengthy explanation. “In any case, given Chi-Ha-Tan's cultural standards, the way they conduct tankery and the personality of their leader… I suspect that if they had abandoned their base and fled from the approaching army, they would have lived a short while longer.” Darjeeling could already see the questions on their faces. “To abandon base means to abandon supplies, places of rest and most of your fuel and ammunition. They would not have lasted long. Based on the location of Chi-Ha-Tan's base relative to the distance of the edge of the further most zones… if they advance the same distance every day, they will reach us in three days. If they advance until they have eliminated one contestant… that will make things much more difficult.”

“Their intention most likely isn't for the pro league to get rid of everyone.” Eclair was glad that for once she was not shackled by the English language. “I will bet that they are just shrinking the territory every day. There are some video games like that. If they never shrink the combat zone, some people will just hide forever and the game never ends. So most likely they're just gonna shrink the zones we can go to until we're forced to duke it out with Kuromorimine and the others.”

“If they are shrinking the area, they have to be doing it from more than one point. That means everyone that is left is going to be forced into one small arena soon.” Assam hoped that everyone knew what that meant.

“So what? We'll kick their butt! And I think this is actually an amazing solution to our alliance problem.” Kay was fired up, thinking about finally getting to engage in massive combat with the Axis. “We beat the crap out of Pravda, take down the Axis and then we stick together and bring the fight to the adults.”

“You wish us to fight the professional league? We did win against selection university, but we are talking about professionals, some of them with two decades of experience or more.” Darjeeling realized what Kay was getting at just after she had given her response. “I am both surprised and not surprised at all that you would come up with something like that.”

“We duke it out with them until there's only one school left. That way we won't have to fight each other and we get to test just how we compare to the pro league.” Kay looked positively fired up. “I'm gonna leave the complicated logistical and information stuff to you, though, I'm **really** aware that I'm made for kicking butt, not pushing paper.” Kay knew that wasn't really how the analogy worked. “You know what I mean.”

“I hate to be a spoilsport but it is starting to look really suspicious, the four of us just whispering to each other.” Assam wanted to remind everyone that the war game was still going on. “[These will be our final days together. We won't forget those that have fallen and we will not forget those yet to fall.]”

“[Assam, I am giving you full command and authority to handpick seven people beside yourself to establish a surveillance team just beyond the border of the IJA's territory. We need to be able to discern how far the troops will move come the next dawn or dusk.]” Darjeeling gave a clear order and then turned to Eclair. “[We need to make preparations for our departure. I do not wish to experience the same fate as the brave girls and women of Chi-Ha-Tan have.]” In plain words, this was an order to figure out how to drag everything they really needed with them and out of the way of the IJA's path.

“[Understood.]” Assam saluted and immediately left the tent to obey her order. At this point in their alliance there were very few soldiers that did not know the faces and names of the higher ranking people in the alliance's command hierarchy. This made it easy for Assam to command and draft even people from Maginot and Saunders without objection. But the first person she selected was for her own mental stability and general moral.

=== Tea and Cola ===

With Chi-Ha-Tan gone, the alliance spend most of their day focusing on logistics. News of the IJA spread through the ranks like a wildfire and after initial insecurity and fear, Kay's mood and enthusiasm proved once again to be contagious. With Darjeeling and Eclair looking like they had nigh a worry about the IJA, the soldiers at large started to look forward to proving themselves against the ultimate enemy.

Late in the afternoon, an hour before the appointed time for dinner, Kay had to step out because her head was about to explode. Darjeeling and Eclair made use of the opportunity that Kay created to take a break themselves. While Kay was out and about, doing some practice shooting with ammo they would almost certainly have to leave behind, Eclair and Darjeeling stuck together, enjoying the sunlight on top of a large crate a few meters outside the tent they used to plan logistics.

“[I can see what you like about her.]” Eclair's English had improved significantly through the almost non-stop use. “[I

“[Inconveniently for you, I am quite sure there are very few like her out there.]”

“[That's unfortunate.]”

“[What is it that you like about her?]”

“[She's kinda macho.]”

Darjeeling covered her mouth, little did it do to suppress her laughter. “[Oh dear, if you tell her that she will be making jokes about movies for days. And I'm surprised a French woman like you would find that quality of her attractive.]”

“[French girls lack the extreme individual… personality she has.]”

“[So you like tall, wild, American macho girls?]”

“[I am surprised by that myself.]”

Smiling, Darjeeling looked towards the sky. “[So a girl like Naomi would be exactly what you are looking for, yes?]”

A few days ago, Eclair would have hastily put up her hands and denied it, embarrassed beyond measure. But now, with everything that had happened, she was much more composed. Which didn't mean she wasn't blushing. “[What gave us away?]”

“[Naomi is close to Kay and Kay has a very poor concept of personal boundaries. From what I heard from Kay, Naomi can be a bit of a womanizer, but if you get her to commit to an actual relationship, she will not be unfaithful. Although I heard that the French are people of passion and-]”

“[That's the Italians. They're the impulsive, passionate ones. I wouldn't want to date someone from Anzio. If they get into fights, things start flying.]”

“[This sounds like something you experienced yourself.]”

“[Not I, someone I know.]”

“[Is that someone perhaps Naomi?]” Darjeeling could tell that she had hit bullseye with that. “[What are you planning to do after this war is over?]”

“[I don't know, maybe I'll transfer over to Maginot.]” Naomi answered jokingly in Eclair's place, having sneaked up on the two and hugging Eclair from behind. “[Cat's out of the bag it seems. I thought as much after I told Kay. She's the worst person on the planet to keep a secret.]”

As they spoke of the devil, Kay was racing towards them, with an angry Alisa chasing her, swinging a shotgun over her head like an enraged barbarian wielding a club. Naomi watched the two of them fly by, hearing and ignoring Kay's plea for help. “[You're not gonna save her?]”

“[She is my girlfriend, not someone to babysit. This kind of trouble she gets herself into and she has to get herself out of.]” Darjeeling heard Alisa shouting obscenities at Kay and a number of soldiers were watching the pursuit with growing amusement. When they were still at it a minute later, Darjeeling let out a big sigh and stood up. “[I suppose I can help her just this once.]”

=== Panzer Halt ===


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a double size chapter since there was no december chapter.

Darjeeling and Kay, the latter having narrowly escaped a black eye from Alisa, were taking what they knew was most likely their last bath until it was all over. Side by side they were still debating things with Eclair. What to take, what to leave behind and whether it was worth it to leave behind a small force in case the invading army would advance as far as it took to take out someone.

Currently, Kay was bent over in pain because Darjeeling was pinching the skin on Kay's left hand – because she wouldn't stop grabbing her butt. “[If we begin the operation tomorrow morning, we can go with our original plan.]” Darjeeling was the prime advocate of this plan.

Grab a lot more than they would normally be able to just load on their tanks and use the supply containers that were still in one piece like a sled. Dragging them around would force them to take specific routes and it would also reduce their speed. Most of all, it was unlikely they would be able to put up another base, so they would live like vagabonds. But with the current situation it was a matter of time until any kind of base would be gone anyway.

Freeing her hand from torment, Kay sat back a little, just enough to stare but not touch Darjeeling's butt. “[I like the alternative more. Even if we don't win, taking out the Imperial Japanese Army would be a lot more glory and fame. We're never gonna get a chance like this again.]”

“[We need a miracle to win against them, oui?]” Eclair was siding with Darjeeling on this. “[I believe Darjeeling's plan to be the safer bet.]”

“[That's just it! War isn't safe or anything. And if we're going to fight anyway, we might as well go for the big one!]” Kay leaned back even further, almost falling into the water and slowly sliding her hand closer to her girlfriend's butt. Slowly, carefully she made a move.

“[We still need to determine the victorious party after we have fought and destroyed the Axis.]” Darjeeling sighed and just let Kay do as she pleased for the moment. “[Fighting the 'big one' as you call them will still be available to us after we have attained legitimate victory over all other forces.]”

“[You mean like fighting a post-game super boss after finishing the story?]” Kay's hand was very close to her girlfriend's butt now and despite her best attempts it was incredibly obvious to anyone that looked what she was doing. She just couldn't help herself. Things would get hectic pretty soon and that would really cut into her alone time. And when the fighting started there was no time whatsoever to recharge on Darling energy. “[That could be good too. But won't they get us from both sides then? Or all four. There's bound to be a number of armies out there. And let's not forget Pravda to the north. We won't even know how far north they are or what is going on with them at all.]” Reaching Darjeeling's butt, Kay rubbed over it for a little until Darjeeling suddenly changed position and sat on Kay's hand, which became uncomfortable really quickly. “[Uh, Darling, could you-]”

“[I do not understand your analogy of what a post-game is, but until only one of us three remains, the war will not end. Sadly so. Despite my personal ambitions, I would gladly compromise and share a victory over the Axis with the two of you.]” Still sitting on Kay's hand and ignoring her pleas to be released as they slowly increased in volume, Darjeeling was not fazed in the least when Naomi came walking towards them, stark naked and waving at Eclair. _Those two… well, Naomi is a well trusted officer serving directly under Kay. It won't hurt if she knows what we are talking about. Eclair most likely talks to her about this anyway when they're in bed._

“[Strategy meeting? Safe for me to sit in?]” Putting her hands down on Eclair's shoulders while she kept standing, Naomi saw the pickle that Kay had gotten herself in. “[Rest in peace, commander.]”

“[Don't just kill me off over something like this! Hoi!]” Kay jumped Darjeeling and both of them went underwater in a huge splash that attracted a lot of attention.

Naomi and Eclair watched Kay and Darjeeling emerged and immediately launch into a wrestling match – Darjeeling smiling in that special way only a pissed off lady could and Kay laughing her heart out. After nearly two minutes of wrestling, Kay was trying to learn how to breathe underwater while Darjeeling had found a pretty slippery and spacious fleshy bench to sit on.

“[Don't drown her, I kinda need her for a little longer.]” Naomi was not taking the abuse her commander was sustaining right now very seriously. In the end, she had brought that on herself.

“[I vote in favor of going forward with our original plan. Kay, how about you?]” Darjeeling looked down, to her side and at Kay's massive pout underwater. _How does she still have the energy for that?_ “[Kay is withholding her vote apparently.]” Moving off the submerged blonde, Darjeeling sat back down in her usual refined manner.

“[I totally heard you say I'm not voting!]” Kay was almost shouting when she burst forth from the depths.

“[Science has proven that prolonged withdrawal of oxygen will cause hallucinations. Kay, you clear-]”

“[I didn't hallucinate that! Hey, Naomi, back me up!]”

Naomi had sat down behind Eclair and straggled her hips with her legs during the comedy routine that Kay and Darjeeling were doing. Right as her commander asked for help, the tall girl was caressing Eclair's neck. “[Commander, don't be unreasonable. It is totally clear which one of you is in charge and she also happens to be in charge of the whole base and our armies, you know?]” Lightly hanging her arms around Eclair's shoulders, Naomi rested her cheek on her right arm. “[Just imagine how mad Alisa will be if she finds out you want all of us to pack up and go fight someone that's got twenty years experience on us.]”

Kay paused and turned into a statue.

“[Naomi, I would appreciate it if you did not mentally break my girlfriend.]” Darjeeling was definitely not above teasing Kay and making a little fun of her.

Kay sprung back into action now, standing straight up. “[Who the heck is mentally broken?! I just thought of a sure fire way to make Naomi back me!]”

“[Kay, please sit down. I dislike it when you publicly expose your body like that.]” Darjeeling showed just the smallest bit of blush on her face.

“[I don't think you have to worry about that, Darjeeling. Kay might look good like this, but if you give her to anyone but you, she's like a gorilla. You should see the way she eats hamburgers. One time, she stuffed two entire cheeseburgers into her mouth because we were late to class.]” Naomi was just pouring oil into the fire now.

Kay raised her fist at her subordinate. “[Naomi! You traitor! I made you swear not to tell anyone!]”

“[You made Alisa swear. You just kind of assumed I wouldn't tattle to the girls in the c- in the army. And I didn't. Nobody in earshot that's from our army other than you and me.]”

“[Enough of the semantics please. Kay, sit down. Naomi, I think Kay has been riled up enough.]” When Darjeeling asked someone to calm down and lay off, they surprisingly always did. Not because they were afraid of her but rather because they knew it was time to stop behaving like they were ten years old.

“[I honestly think I… cannot convince my girls to join in a fight against the IJA instead of moving against Pravda and the Axis.]” Eclair felt a bit more confident with Naomi right behind her and still. _They're adults. Some of them have probably close to two or three decades of tankery experience. Not to mention the physical difference and their equipment. It is basically a suicide mission._ “[I agree with Darjeeling that we should move within the day tomorrow as early as possible.]” Despite getting better, her sentence structure in English still needed work.

“[You're all poop.]” Kay started pouting more intensely than before and it didn't look fake.

 _I need to do something about this. I haven't seen her pout like this before._ “[Kay, do you really hold Kuromorimine and Ooarai in such low regard that you do not want to fight them in an all out battle with Eclair and myself by your side?]” Trying to appeal to the macho element that Kay had going for her, Darjeeling lessened the pout to painful self-awareness and hubris.

“[I know, I know… It's just exciting to think we have a chance to battle it out with the Imperial Army but then we're not going for it right away. It's like having a lot of tasty side dishes but you really want to dig into the main dish but you gotta eat the side dish first.]”

“[Kay...]” Slowly, and with determined intent to show just how taken aback she was by this analogy, Darjeeling touched just her fingertips to her forehead. “[You make a fine commander, so why is it that always, always, you come up with such harebrained comparisons?]”

“[Call it a charm point, a charm point!]” Shaking her fists in front of her chest, Kay looked a lot more like her usual self now. As she sat back down she leaned against Darjeeling, shoulder to shoulder. “[This is gonna be the last evening we can mess around like this. I wanna say 'let's give the guards the night off and have a lavish dinner with everything we can't take with us' but not only did we already have dinner, Darling would declare me insane over reducing the guard on such a critical night.]”

Darjeeling smiled wide. “[I believe you now owe me the bar of chocolate that you have kept in reserve, Naomi.]”

Kay reacted to that in a very specific way. “[Hey. Don't tell me-]”

Naomi sighed a little, specifically so that Eclair shivered from the air she exhaled. “[A bet is a bet. In hindsight I still think I was betting on the greater odds.]”

Kay was looking back and forth between her girlfriend and the girl she considered her best friend. “[You two didn't seriously bet on me-]”

Darjeeling cleared her throat. “[Will Kay find it within her to be serious and realize the situation we are all in after we shoot down her idea for an immediate attack on the Imperial Japanese Army, yes or no?]” Looking at her girlfriend not with a refined smile but a teasing grin, Darjeeling felt very proud of herself. “[I of course bet on yes.]”

“[Kay is a lousy actor so I know you didn't cheat. That was all natural Kay behavior.]” Naomi made herself a little smaller behind Eclair's back.

“[The heck do you mean, natural!]” Kay pouted again, this time in an overdone, obviously fake way.

Slowly rising up and turned ninety degrees, Darjeeling briefly closed her eyes. “[I am going to leave. The logistics of tomorrow will require me to be fully rested.]”

“[You heard the lady. Have fun, you two.]” Kay followed Darjeeling in that special way only a couple would.

“[She didn't even think about staying on her own. Comme attendu d'elle.]” Eclair felt Naomi's hands shift around her waist now.

“[Je voudrais faire la même chose.]” Naomi showed off one of the several dozen French phrases she had memorized.

“[Très bien, mademoiselle Naomi. Mon bien-aimé.]” Eclair liked to speak a little bit of French with her new girlfriend. With everything that was going on, she felt like she was using more English than French and that was really no good.

“[I can guess what that last part means.]” A slow, continuous kiss on Eclair's back made the French girl shiver in anticipation. “[You wanna stay a little longer?]”

“[Not much. Unless you will just let me sleep tonight.]”

“[Hm, what to do...]” Running her hands along Eclair's sides, Naomi rested her forehead against the lightly damp back of Eclair's head, the tied up hair acting almost like a cushion. “[Do you want to just sleep?]”

“[Today… hm… s-stop, I'm ticklish.]” Eclair started to fidget when Naomi used her fingers to tease her girlfriend. “[Today I think I really should sleep.]”

“[Kay is going to put me through hell tomorrow, along with everyone else in Saunders, so it's probably not a bad idea to actually get some rest in. And we don't have any more spare sleeping bags either.]”

“[It is entirely your fault that we had to air the other one out!]”

“[I see no wrong in being so skilled with my fingers that my partner stains the bag.]” Saying with an incredibly smug tone, Naomi touched on the base of Eclair's neck with the tip of her tongue. “[You know, nobody would notice a bit of leaking in here.]”

“You pervert!” Eclair hissed in Japanese. “Not when everyone could see, I mean it.”

As a woman that understood a 'no' when she heard it, Naomi sat straight up, taking her hands all the way to Eclair's shoulders. “[Mes excuses, ma chérie.]”

“[Je suis désolé.]” Apologizing for suddenly getting all serious, Eclair strongly sighed. “[I am just on edge with everything happening now.]”

“[Same here. I guess we can try to take the edge off of each other.]”

“[I was serious about the sleeping part...]” Eclair was worried that Naomi would keep her up all night.

“[Can we not sleep side by side?]” Naomi moved back in, pressing her breasts against Eclair's back. “[A little excitement to fall asleep.]”

“[You have some strange ideas of what excitement is used for, Naomi...]” Leaning forward, Eclair defused the situation. “And no getting touchy when we change.” She sometimes fell back to Japanese with Naomi just because she wanted to make absolutely sure that there were no misunderstandings. She had seen a bit of anime here and there. Misunderstandings could cause the end of the world, literally so in some cases.

“[Roger.]” Sitting back for a moment and then slowly standing up, Naomi stretched, arms up in the air, until Eclair was on her feet as well. Walking past her, their arms and shoulders colliding for a bit, Naomi whispered back to her, in Japanese. “I will insist on a good night kiss though.”

Eclair followed her new girlfriend with a slightly more red face than the water should have given her.

=== Tea and Cola ===

“I can't sleep...” Kay rolled over, which required significant effort since she was still sharing the field bed with Darjeeling. “Darling, you awake?” There was no answer. Kay softly poked the sleeping girl's cheek. “There is no response. It's just a Darling.”

Still getting no response, Kay laid down on her stomach and looked sideways at her girlfriend. “Maybe I should shave off the hair down there. I don't wanna hear you complain about getting them in your mouth because they're hard to see in the dark.”

Darjeeling remained peacefully asleep despite the rather _special_ commentary.

“I don't really mind though. Even though you sweat a lot under that skirt. You know, with how much you sweat, shaving it would probably just become really irritating for your skin. Or maybe it is because you didn't shave it that you sweat so much?” Kay just kept amusing herself by saying the most outrageous things. “Maybe I should take this chance and shave it-” Her breath was taken away by force. An elbow had been launched into her stomach with the force of a mechanical pile driver or a nail cannon. “D-Darling… so you… were awake...” It didn't so much hurt as she had trouble breathing.

Instead of saying anything, Darjeeling simply shifted on the spot, slowly and carefully turning sideways so her sleeping face was linked up with Kay's gaze.

“You're awake, aren't you?” Kay had regained her words now. And was guarding her stomach with her right arm. “You're totally awake, Darling.”

And still no reply. Instead, Darjeeling moved forward a little, putting her arms around Kay's waist, resting her forehead against her girlfriend's collar bone.

“Darling, you're not fooling me. You're definitely-” Protecting her stomach really didn't do anything to help her against Darjeeling suddenly ramming her head against Kay's chin. “Ow, ow, ow…. You know Darling, I'm not really into the whole **M** thing you know… I prefer more normal, chocolate like… no, wait, that's not right. Vanilla. I prefer more vanilla stuff.”

“Kay, please just go to sleep. Tomorrow will be an arduous day and I do not wish to have bags under my eyes” Darjeeling finally let out a sigh.

“See! I knew you were awake!”

“Kay.” Sighing again, Darjeeling backed away a little and looked right in Kay's eyes. “Please just sleep.”

“I would if I could.”

“What will help you sleep?”

“Hm… I dunno.”

“Just close your eyes and stay still.”

Their tent became silent after she said so and it lasted for several minutes. But now that Kay had woken her up, even Darjeeling couldn't find the right moment to actually fall asleep again. And finally they realized that they were too nervous about the next day to sleep.

“Now I cannot sleep.”

There was an enormously long and absolutely silent moment before Kay opened her mouth. “Sorry.”

Finding her way out of bed, putting her feet on the cold tent floor, Darjeeling yawned. She was tired and yet she couldn't sleep. “I am going to take a walk. It is our last day at this base so I would like to have a last look before we depart in the morning.”

It didn't take her long to put on some clothes and leave the tent. It was dark in the base, but even so she knew exactly where she was going. Looking up at the black night sky, her pace slowed. It was a sight that wasn't too unusual to see from her home, but ever since the war had begun, she hadn't found the time or place to just look up and watch the stars. It wasn't exactly in her nature to do something so cliched and romantic. But today, tonight, it was fine.

She passed many a tent that still had the lights on, quiet murmuring coming from within, from soldiers plagued by the same syndrome she dealt with now. The final battle was quickly approaching now. The world was closing in on them, and even if Kay was optimistic about it, Darjeeling knew that while they might be able to put up a good fight, they had no hope of actually defeating the Imperial Japanese Army.

 _Is that why I am left unable to rest? The knowledge that Kay's dream will remain but a dream? That even should we claim victory over Pravda and the Axis, that we will never claim victory over the IJA? That her hopes will ultimately be dashed, that she will be defeated._ Darjeeling stopped in front of a particularly rowdy tent and flicked the outer wall. “[It is late. If you insist on staying awake, at the very least reduce this rowdiness of yours.]” She didn't wait for a reply and just walked away with a smile.

 _What am I thinking?_ A big smile showed on her face. Amusement over how silly she was being. _Even though I knew little of Kay as a person before all of this, I know what **sort** of person she is. She would jump right into any battle, no matter how impossible. And it is her way, her tankery, to enjoy a fight with any enemy she faces. She seeks victory but it isn't victory itself that makes it all worth it for her. Kay's hopes and dreams are made of steel and iron. A loss against an enemy she must know she cannot beat will not so much as put a dent in them._ _Most people would find this unwavering optimism very annoying. But… it isn't that her optimism is backed up by confidence or arrogance. Kay knows well her own limit and that of others._

Walking with an image of Kay's smile in her mind, she paid little heed to other soldiers that were taking a last stroll around their home of a week. To spend some last hours with girls they had not known even from the distance just ten days prior. Their armies had grown closer, grown attached to each other. _In a way, it is a blessing to have an enemy that poses insurmountable odds. To eliminate all other forces, leaving but Gloriana, Saunders and Maginot… it would have been far more cruel and agonizing for us to fight each other. A blaze of glory – Candles in the fiery winds – Death welcoming us._ Darjeeling smirked. _I knew I would be able to perform a Haiku in English before all of this ended. I hope that come this war again, Saunders and Gloriana will still be able to rely on another. It is fascinating, how much Kay has changed the path of this war simply by fetching me from my bedside and stealing my heart._

Patrolling the second ring of the base, she moved slower now, deliberate and well paced, a quiet stroll through the night. _It feels like we've been here for so much longer than we really are. So much happened. It's a little sad that we have to finish up things now. But this is war. We're not playing house._

Before she knew it she had found her way to outer ring, sitting atop one of the empty tanks that was right between two guard points. Sitting there by herself, Darjeeling stared off into the night. It was getting really cold now and she was longing for her warm bed. _I cannot underestimate Pravda and the Axis. Kay and Eclair are clearly looking toward me for strategic guidance. Given the speed with which we will proceed, it is unlikely that we meet them right within the first day, but I must plan for that eventuality. Compared to a simple match of tankery, so much more thinking goes into what we do here_.

Turning her thoughts towards tomorrow and the coming battles, Darjeeling didn't flinch or startle when someone sat behind her, their backs supporting each other now.

While Darjeeling thought about tomorrow, Kay thought further ahead. _I wonder if she realizes that this is where we sat earlier today when we saw Chi-Ha-Tan deliver their dying message._ She was just taking a break from thinking ahead, that's all. _Ah, she's so cute in the dark._ Kay's thoughts paused. _Thank god I was only thinking that and nobody heard me. That totally makes it sound like she isn't cute in the light. That is absolutely not the case!_

 _Darling is always cute, no matter what she does! She does look a little snobbish when she is holding her tea cup though. Earlier I saw her make the hand notion for holding the cup when she didn't have one. I wish I could have taken a picture of it._ Leaning a little more against Darjeeling, Kay glanced over her shoulder. _I really kind of winged our first encounter but I am seriously grateful it worked out to this. It's totally something dad would slap me around for, but Darling… I guess she's kinda giving me direction. I really had not much of an idea of anything on what to do with my life after high school. I was just kinda there, thinking it would continue forever. But now I know what I am gonna do. I'll go into professional tankery. Not just because Darling will be there, that would be pretty bad. It's working with her, seeing myself in contrast to her, that made me realize how much I actually love being in this place._

Kay smirked to herself and wanted to flick her own forehead. _But Darling being there totally helps. Ah, I am gonna be in **such** deep shit when I get back home. My grades are actually a bunch worse than I told Darling. I'm gonna pack my bags and go camping in Britain for a week or two. I should have enough attendance credit to last me until graduation._

Staying the way they were, Kay just stopped thinking about anything meaningful at all. _Darling. Ling. Lin? Rin? I wonder if that's pushing it, but then both our names are three alphabet letters each! What about alternatives, though? Darjee? Davee? Davy? Isn't there like a famous locked room or something of Davy something? She'll probably take off my head for that one. Her name's real complicated though… how the heck do you even write Darjeeling in katakana? Is that even possible to write in kanji? If you write it Da-ji-ri-n it kinda makes sense I guess… why do I suddenly feel so embarrassed about the way we use katakana? I mean my name is written Ke-i, so it's not any better. Come to think of it, I don't actually know my darling's family name. We always kinda went on a first name basis because we're the same age and competitors, so I never really thought about it before. I can't even ask her! How is **that** gonna make me look? Hey, darling, I never actually asked your full name~. She'll load me into a cannon and fire._

While Kay was in anguish over her new found problem, Darjeeling was finally feeling sufficiently tired and prepared. Slowly backing away from her partner, she got up and turned about. Without looking, she moved her left hand alongside Kay's cheek and felt a quick kiss on the back of her hand before she left without a word. Ir was late and she was not going to let this chance pass by again.

She was halfway to her tent when Kay caught up with her. A quick glance exchanged, both girls slowed down even more, their hands finding together in the dark. They would have plenty of time and need to talk tomorrow so for now they just enjoyed each other's company in silence and with smiles on their face. There was but one exception to the silence now before sleep claimed them.

“[Good Night.]”

=== Tea and Cola ===

“[Don't bother with anything we can't take! Just leave it, there's nobody left with the time to come over and loot!]” Kay was barking orders early in the morning already, using a makeshift megaphone that a few crafty girls had put together and hooked up to one of the radio stations.

Under normal circumstances they would have used scorched earth tactics to prevent looters from stealing their stuff but not only didn't they have time for this, they also didn't want to ruin things they could just as easily take back home once the war was done. Unless the IJA just drove right through their base, that was.

Kay was everywhere and nowhere all the time – some girls were wondering if there were a couple imitators running around because it felt like Kay had just cloned herself. Nobody slacked, nobody was questioning orders just because they came from Kay instead of Darjeeling. For all their complaints about Kay's behavior in fights, they did trust her to know what she was doing.

Tanks were separated into three categories and the first category was further split into four. The first company, the largest one, was the one that was actually dedicated to fighting. They were split into front, rear and escort groups. Of the ninety-six battle ready tanks, forty-one came from Saunders, twenty-nine from Maginot and twenty-six from Gloriana. Saunders was leading the charge while Gloriana was covering the rear and Maginot was cooperating with Saunders to protect their flanks.

The base looked like it was being plundered by bandits. Sixteen times two, side by side, made the main convoy that was formed of functional but not necessarily battle ready tanks and vehicles. That convoy was the lifeblood of their final days and had to be protected at all costs.

It was all around chaos. Despite Kay's, Darjeeling's and Eclair's best efforts to keep things organized, actual packing and loading never quite worked out the way in practice like it did in theory. Things ended up in the wrong vehicle, the wrong crates were loaded on top of each other, boxes would break and so forth. Kay really was trying to split herself in four. Much to Darjeeling's and Eclair's fascination, Kay had an unexpected talent for keeping good oversight despite chaos.

The morning sun had just barely shown itself but the base was already rapidly changing shape. Everyone had said their goodbyes to their comfortable homes – military tents – and their even more comfortable beds – field beds and sleeping bags. From then on it would be rough going and they were all ready for that. Or so they had thought.

The night shift guards were desperately trying to get some shuteye, clogging up the convoy vehicles in and out. They had to be split up across the escort tanks, which in turn made things pretty tight. To begin with, every army had brought more soldiers than they could fit into the tanks in one go because putting up a base was basically required. So having a mobile base so to speak was just asking for trouble.

“[You, you- heck, everyone within ten meters of me!]” Kay was grabbing hold of a group that was draining fuel from the tanks that were completely out of commission. “[Get whatever tents you can pull out. If we can't fit everyone inside we'll fit em outside!]”

“[Kay, what are you planning? We will most likely not have time or materials to put up tents during the night.]” Darjeeling was with Kay, trying to keep things – and her girlfriend – from spiraling out of control.

“[We'll pitch them on the tanks. The convoy isn't gonna do battle and in some cases we can use the tents like cover or to keep stuff in place. Tents are fixed in place with rings and rope to begin with and there is plenty of that to work with on a tank. Or should be.]” Kay barely even looked at Darjeeling as she loudly explained her plan. “[Grab as many as you can get, if we end up with surplus, we'll just toss em!]” Compared to equipment and munitions, a few tents were basically pocket change. War was expensive and after seeing just how much everything cost, Kay understood just **how** expensive. Without sponsorships from overseas even Saunders couldn't have footed the bill for just their own army.

Like ants did the soldiers of the three country alliance swarm their own base, taking everything that wasn't nailed down. A lot of things were left behind however, such as spare parts that were just too unwieldy to lug around. Vehicles were loaded up so far that people had to sit on top of crates. By no margin was this going to be a comfortable journey and final battle, everyone was well aware of that by seven in the morning.

Kay jumped from one tank in the convoy to another, landing on top of a large box that had grenades inside. “[Move these inside! One hit from enemy fire, these things go up and we have a giant hole in our convoy!]” Whistling to grab more attention, Kay was still using her makeshift megaphone. “[Everyone listen up! The convoy is still a viable target for enemy fire so flammable materials and explosives have to go inside! Infantry ammunition is fine if there's no more space inside!]”

The standing order was that only the radio operator and the driver was going to be inside the tank and even that only to operate the vehicle. Sleeping was going to happen sitting up or lying down on crates. There was no doubt they had to finish this quickly, within a handful of days at most. Otherwise fatigue would get the better of them.

“[She is having a lot of fun with this.]” Eclair arrived where Darjeeling was, in what remained of their command center. Different from usual, she wore her hair to the front, falling over her shoulders. “[Like a girl going… going… what is the word?]”

“[On a journey?]” Darjeeling helped out, doing some last minute checks on whether they had taken everything they needed.

“[No. The event where you go to the forest and remain there in a tent, you make curry and such in the wild… The French word for it is camping.]” Walking past Darjeeling, Eclair picked up a small, inconspicuous metal box and checked inside. _If this battle is repeated, this data will prove very useful. Kay and Darjeeling are third years, so they will not be able to participate again, but I still have one more year, one more try. And with the current collaboration, if I assert myself well enough, I will be able to recreate this alliance._

“[It is the same in English.]”

“[Has it been decided where we will heed first?]” Eclair trusted Darjeeling. Not just because it would be foolish to betray Maginot now and lead them into an ambush but also because she understood what kind of person Darjeeling was.

“[We will go-]” Her answer was cut short by Kay suddenly barging into the tent from around the corner.

“[Rin, they need you up front by the advance guard.]” Flying in and out of the tent without breaking or stopping, Kay was gone as quickly as she had showed up. In her mind, she was responsible for the physical, corporeal side of things after pushing the planning and tactical burden on her girlfriend and ally.

“[Rin? Is your family name related to that?]” Eclair was curious. “[She obviously could not have meant me.]” An awkward pause happened as doubt wormed its way into the French girl's mind. “[No, no, definitely not, oui?]”

“[Think about how you would write my name in katakana.]” She had already dealt with this first thing in the morning and knowing Kay, there was no moving back from it. She was not the sort of person that would randomly shorten someone's name without good reason and even if she had wanted to, there was not much to shorten with a name as short as Kay.

Eclair thought about it and quickly came to a realization. “[Oh. I must say that is quite clever.]”

“[Do not let her hear you say this. It will go to her head and the next of my nicknames will be something exceptionally silly.]” Finishing up her document check, Darjeeling left most of what she had looked through right there on the table. “[We will go north. All factors being equal and the Imperial Japanese Army closing in on us from all cardinal winds-]” Darjeeling stopped when she saw Eclair's confused face. “[The cardinal winds means east, south, west, north. Without known enemies to the south and the west having been the territory of Chi-Ha-Tan, it leaves but the northern wastes and the eastern lands. In the east remains the Axis. In the north roam the Russians. Katyusha and Nonna are not foes I wish to deal with at our rear during entanglement with the Axis. As such we will eliminate them first.]”

“[I'm so nervous I slept badly. To know that we are pushing towards the final battle is really exciting and stressful at the same time. All the responsibility lies on the shoulders of us three. On that note, I'm sorry that I am making you handle my share of strategy as well.]”

“[To coordinate three different strategies, especially with Kay involved, would be much harder. I am grateful that both of you trust in me enough to allow me to wield our three armies as one.]”

“[I hope Kay knows how lucky she is.]”

“[Will Naomi not be jealous if she hears you flatter me so?]” There was a hint of taunting in her voice.

“[We're not as close as you and Kay are.]” Finishing up her search, Eclair walked past Darjeeling. “[Although I would not mind a relationship like yours.]” Passing the boundary of the tent and vanishing into the chaos beyond, Eclair never got to hear Darjeeling's reply to her comment.

“[I believe you are headed towards something just like that.]”

In a completely different part of the base were Alisa and Naomi, functioning as Kay's second and third pair of arms. Several disputes had broken out between Gloriana and Saunders soldiers. Over the remaining amount of chocolate that was present, over other luxury goods and primarily deployment arrangements

The chocolate argument came first. The Gloriana side was claiming that Saunders had taken more than their fair share while Saunders was saying the opposite. Naomi was dealing with this one because Alisa very well couldn't possibly be trusted to calmly listen to both sides and negotiate. After hearing both sides, Naomi picked up the carton with chocolate and carried it under her arm. “[Confiscated. They will be given out to those that serve night duty and protect the convoy. If you want some, work for it.]”

There were some protests but Naomi just shrugged it off. “[We do not have the time to look into who took how much and even if we did, that time would be best spent in a different way. Since it is impossible to distribute it fairly, I am punishing everyone the same way. Rather than give these to someone to hoard, they're gonna be put to good use. We're going north and it gets really cold up there. This will help keep everyone alive. I'm sure nobody has a problem with keeping all of us alive and not ambushed, right? You're all good girls in the end, right?]” Naomi's good looks and somewhat calming voice really helped smooth things over.

A little further away was Alisa, pointing her rifle at a girl from Saunders that was kneeling on the ground. “[She was the one that threw the first punch, right?]”

An argument had broken out earlier over who would be able to do night guard first so they could rotate out early and not have to sit guard in the freezing cold of Pravda's territory. The argument had turned into a brawl, involving over a dozen girls. There were some scratches and a handful of them tasted a bit of blood in their mouth, but nothing serious.

There was visibly distress among the girls that had been involved in the brawl. When Alisa showed up, fired her gun in the air and shouted them to pieces they thought that would be it. She'd decide the order and they'd have to eat the order. But this was beyond their expectation. “[I… don't really know. It was a heated situation.]”

“[Huh? All of you from Gloriana pointed fingers at her. And let me just say this, I am not only going to shoot her, I am also going to shoot whoever threw the first punch from your side. Or I could call Assam and have her pull the trigger. Whatever you prefer.]” Alisa didn't have the skills of negotiation and the charisma that Naomi had. She made use of fear and brute force instead. “[Or what, are you telling me you were all mistaken?]”

None of the girls from Gloriana wanted to step forward. Those from Saunders were looking at their allies with pleading eyes but unable to openly ask for help. Only when the girl who had a gun pointed to her head was showing signs that she was about to cry did the tallest girl from Gloriana come forward. “[She was the most impressive one. We just singled her out because we don't know who threw the first punch.]” It was a blatant lie. They all knew who on each side had been the first to get physical after a lot of pushing. And they were both good soldiers that were just on edge.

“[Captain Alisa, we have no idea who it was that threw the first punch either. It could be that Gloriana retaliated or their started it, we're not sure.]”

Alisa easily lost her temper and wasn't too keen on playing by the rules but she wasn't stupid either. This was exactly the result she wanted. Frighten them by threatening to shoot the perpetrator on each side to provide a deterrent for future escalations. The prospect of losing a comrade over a brief brawl – no, two comrades – was enough to call them back to reality.

Shaking her gun, Alisa clicked her tongue. “[So what, all of a sudden you're gonna decide with rock-paper-scissors?]” That would propel them in the right direction. Naomi was better suited for civil disputes but there was no one that could quell a physical conflict the way Alisa could.

The officers from Saunders were just as busy as the ones from Gloriana. Ranko, who was mildly in despair that nobody remembered she was called Orange Pekoe and not Ranko, was trying her best to make the convoy take form smoothly. “[Further back, further back! No, that's too far! I can't help it that it is hard to maneuver!]”

In stark contrast to Ranko's rule as a supervisor, Rosehip was putting the energy she always had in excess to good use, carrying things. Nobody wanted to let her near the **packing** because they actually wanted to find things again. Assam was letting her run wild for now – going back and forth like a bullet train, taking from one stack and leaving it by another. With an army their size, everything had a few more steps than usual.

Assam herself was organizing the packing. What and how much of said what went into which crates and boxes and when. The girls working with her were jokingly calling her the **Master of Stacks** , fully intending the double meaning. There were no breaks scheduled, not until they were on the road. “[No, leave that munition. We only have six tanks capable of firing them and four of them are being used within the convoy proper. Don't leave any rations behind. Pack them within secure boxes, not the thin crates. If we starve, we cannot fight. You, fetch me my Berserker.]” Directing her roughly twenty lackeys with pinpoint accuracy, Assam herself was not doing anything physical. It was a lot of effort just to keep everything running smoothly.

Within the minute Rosehip was there, panting and looking like she was having the time of her life. “[You are going to exhaust yourself. Sit.]” Assam couldn't wander off herself, so she had Rosehip come to her instead.

“[I'm fine! It's fun!]” Rosehip resisted the order for a moment but followed suit when she saw Assam's right eye twitch. They hadn't been together for long as a couple, but they were team mates and spend a lot of time together as Darjeeling's subordinates. She knew that was a sign that she had to get her shit together and sit down. “[Boo. You know I can handle this much.]” Rosehip shivered when Assam smiled at her in a way that was promising punishment for talking back. Sitting plain on the ground, next to Assam, who stood on top of a large, empty wooden crate.

“[You're counting on sleep and a decent meal for your energy. Most likely we won't have either going forward.]” Looking down at her girlfriend, Assam knew she was being a little hard on her, but war was not a picnic. While Saunders and Maginot had a number of well trained infantry people, Gloriana was a little behind in that. Rosehip was not a specialist, but she was incredibly fast, had a lot of stamina – something that didn't translate well to her tankery style – and was generally a fighter.

“[It's gonna be really hard, I know. But I'm gonna show all those girls from Saunders that Gloriana can do just as well as they do, not just in tanks. I know you're counting on me, right?]”

“[Counting on you? I mean, I did include you in the head count for our infantry troops, but...]” Assam was an excellent actor. Nothing in her behavior or voice gave away that she was lying.

“[How many times do you think I am going to fall for that?]” Rosehip's voice on the other hand was quivering a little. Like she was trying to convince herself that Assam was just pulling her strings again.

“[Falling for what exactly? If you have time to goof off this much maybe I should not have told you to take a break after all.]”

Rosehip's eyes were now directed at the ground, her feet wiggling from side to side, the tips of her boots touching against each other every second. “[I hate it when you tease me.]”

Nobody but Rosehip noticed when Assam lightly tapped the redhead's back with the side of her boot. Rosehip looked up, their eyes met and they were able to communicate without words. Narrow eyes, a faint smile and a mocking, suppressed chuckle from Assam made very clear what she was actually thinking. But this was followed by a somber, serious expression from Assam. They had very few rules between them. Duty first. No fooling around in public until after the war. No playing hero for each other if it meant endangering a mission.

And each of them had a rule for themselves that remained unsaid. Assam would only tease Rosehip so much before she showed her what she really felt or meant. And Rosehip would temper her energies when Assam asked her to, even if it was difficult. They wanted to make it work, to see where it would lead. In a way, seeing their commander so madly in love was an inspiration to them to try harder themselves.

Preparations were going not smoothly – how could they go smoothly with such a large operation – but they were progressing only a little behind schedule, which was ahead of what Darjeeling had planned for. They would be well on the road north by noon.

=== Tea and Cola ===

_I see. A wise decision, considering what they must know about us by now. But for them to make it so fast is unexpected. That Gloriana girl is surprisingly talented. I knew she was skilled in warfare but after seeing only Chi-Ha-Tan destroyed she deemed it more valuable to leave behind much of her base._

“Understood.” Nishizumi Shiho put down her cellphone, which was something she was only allowed to have because she was an extra territorial force, and looked at the horizon. Over the last day she had handed over command over the western punitive force to Chiyo, switching places with her. In the end it did not matter which army they controlled. They were not there to attain victory but to exert pressure and crush those that thought they could pick a fight with a lion when they were but a street cat.

 _In hindsight, I will be regretting this. Even if I am their mother, it was simply hubris to want to challenge them myself, to see how much they have grown. The Allied Forces have already made their decision, but the Axis is still standing by now. They can't possibly be waiting to fight off a heavily armed battalion of mechanized infantry? No, Maho and Miho are not that senseless. Even if they were still confused on who we are and what we are doing. They must at least know the difference in power between the two armies. While we are subject to the same rules of engagement as they are, we have trained professionals making up our ranks, some of them even serving in the JGSDF itself. We have myself, Chiyo and Chouno leading the punitive forces. No amateurs in the world can stand up to this army in warfare. Chi-Ha-Tan had survived this long and was eliminated in a one-sided massacre. I expect my daughters to put up more of a fight, especially with Miho likely handling the strategic element-_ Shiho's train of thought stopped for a moment and then changed course drastically.

 _I could potentially- no, I most definitely can mend my relationship with Miho a little if she performs well. I was very hard on her, thinking that maybe she would change her ways, but after she remained committed and showed results I did realize that genius cannot always be contained in existing paths. Maybe I can ask her to come visit at home sometime. I am sure Maho will be glad to have her sister around as well. But still… I really should not have done this_.

The day before, around noon.

“Shiporin~!” A whirlwind was brandishing its way through the intestines of the super carrier, arms stretching out and in full military uniform still. Running with such enthusiasm that people were stepped out of the way, Chiyo was completely disregarding any need or attempts for secrecy. In the end, she could always just deny anything fishy was going on and blame it all on Alice getting along with Maho, so she had reconnected to Shiho during this long war. But her enthusiasm was deterred pretty harshly.

Her beloved Shiporin side-stepped her approach, grabbed her arm and twisted it around so Chiyo was forced to her knees. Even the head of the Shimada family knew better than to say something suggestive out in public, but she also wouldn't give anyone the satisfaction of being a wimp. “Cold as always, Shiporin.” Shifting backwards, making Shiho release her hold, Chiyo got back on her feet, trying to still look dignified.

“We do not have time for idle chat, Shimada.” _I cannot believe she would charge at me like that. I am still not divorced, so it will be problematic if people draw the wrong conclusion from this. Even more so, we are both technically on duty. There is nothing to do, but duty is duty. And she should know this as well._ “But still, I am in your debt.”

“I'll be collecting on that another time.” Chiyo looked like a teenage girl that had learned a terrible secret about someone and could push them around with it now. “To think you'd ask me to switch posts with you. Are you that eager to meet your daughters?”

“If someone has to remind them of the harsh reality of war, then it should be me.”

“Alice is there too. Don't I have the same right then?”

“You Shimadas are more free spirited than we Nishizumis.”

“Hey. I don't think you meant that as a compliment, Shiporin.” Chiyo pouted a little while looking around. Nobody was paying that much attention to them – it was right around lunch time and everyone was glued to the viewing rooms, witnessing the first reactions of the armies to the invading force. “Do you really think it is a good idea for you to go and fight Miho and Maho?”

“It is my duty to test my daughters and see their growth for myself.”

 _So you say, but there are any number of ways to do that without coming down on them with an army of professionals and actual soldiers. You just want to fight your girls because that's the only way you can really talk to them. You're so bad at communicating, Shiporin._ “Take care that you don't lose.”

Shiho showed a rare thing – a smile, accompanied by a chuckle. “Even if they were to face us prepared to die, they would not achieve victory.” _Is she concerned about me not fighting at capacity because they are my daughters? Chiyo should know me better than that… so that is most likely not it. Is she accusing me of arrogance? Of underestimating my children? Perhaps she is saying that because Alice is there, they will have a tactical advantage because Shimada tactics run counter to that of the Nishizumi… still, what can one girl do?_

“Just make sure you don't embarrass the pro league, Shiporin.” Chiyo took a quick glance to the left and right, stepped forward, kissed Shiho on the cheek and stepped past her all in a matter of two seconds. “Remember to call me! We're not being observed so we can call! I already saved my number in your cellphone.” Walking away calmly and quietly, as it was expected of the head of the Shimada family, Chiyo was all giddy over the situation. Now that things were in motion it was pointless to fight her instinct. Going back to the battlefield was waking up instincts she had forgotten. And reconnecting with Shiho on top of that was making this the best time of her life.

Both ladies spent less than two hours getting to know their new troops. It was barely past three when Shiho's cellphone started vibrating in her pocket. After letting it go to voice mail six times, she finally picked up the seventh call. “Chiyokichi, we are on duty!” There were few things in this world that could rile up Nishizumi Shiho, and one of those was her high school girlfriend. “You make me think there's an emergency or something!”

“Shiporin~! I'm bored~.” The voice on the other end was excessively drawing out the words and sounding much like she had back in their school days.

The line went dead. Shiho had angrily hung up, a vein on her forehead getting a little bit more visible. _That damn woman. We are on **duty**. Duty! It means to be battle ready in case one of the student armies decided to attack us! Or something happens! To observe! Not-_ The phone vibrated again and before she even knew what she was doing, Shiho had picked up. “”Chiyokichi, if you don't stop calling me I'll turn off my phone!”

The voice on the other end cleared their throat. “What a surprise to see that you can be so expressive, Lady Nishizumi.”

Shiho nearly crushed her phone in her fist. “Who do you think you're fooling, Chiyokichi?! I know exactly what the president sounds like and to begin with he doesn't have my number! Just how bored are you?! The girl I like is not someone who would shirk her duties and take it easy just because we're up against minors!” Shiho was breathing heavily after nearly shouting into her phone. And then she heard subdued laughter on the other end. She hung up again.

 _What is wrong with that woman? She is acting worse than she did when we were in our third year in Kuromorimine. Good grief. She'd drive a samurai to ritual disembowelment with that attitude._ A text message came through. At first she just sighed and refused to look at it, but no matter how much Chiyo would annoy her, she did still love her. She was going to groan and complain on the inside but she would still put up with everything.

 _Sorry. I am just very excited about being on the battlefield with my loved Shiporin. Don't be mad~! Love, Chiyo._ A second message popped up right after. _Stupid auto-correct, not my loved Shiporin, my beloved Shiporin_.

 _I knew what you meant, though, Chiyo._ Shiho put her phone away and was silently praying that she'd be able to focus on her job for now. No such luck. Within three minutes her phone rang again and she was about to just turn it off entirely. But this time it was not Chiyo who called her but Chouno, code designation thunderstorm. While the Nishizumi valued overwhelming force and discipline, the Shimada went for diverse and divisive tactics, reminiscent of guerrilla warfare. Chouno on the other hand was a balanced commander that adjusted her tactics to the flow of battle without subscribing to any specific ideology. “What is it Chouno? Why are you calling my private phone? How did you even obtain this number?”

“Shimada gave it to me. I am calling you on this line because I heard that you and Shimada switched places. Your designations have therefore been changed. Shimada is now in command of Inferno one and designated Hellfire one. You are now designated Inferno Two, Iceburn one. Please refrain from further changes.”

“Understood.”

The lack of bigger response made Chouno a little uncomfortable. “I know your daughters are set in the east, but you shouldn't go easy on them.”

“Do I appear to be the type to do that?”

“You did ask Shimada to switch positions with you.”

“To see for myself how well my daughters will respond to an armed force they have no hope of defeating.”

“Throwing the lion's cub into a valley a thousand steps deep.”

“Is that all?”

“Just what exactly is your relationship with Shimada? I've been meaning to ask you about-”

“Nothing? I will see you after the punitive force has ceased operations then.” Shiho hung up on Chouno. _I will not discuss details of my private life with Chouno or anyone. Not until I have made certain that revealing my relationship with Chiyo will not damage my reputation._

Spending the remainder of the day with her phone repeatedly vibrating or ringing until she turned it off, Shiho saw to her duties – which were not much. The professional league was full of people that knew exactly how to behave. When to be serious and on the lookout and when to relax. Most women were engaging into activities such as playing cards. They were not allowed mobile devices during deployment, other than their commander. During the late evening, a scouting party from Kuromorimine arrived, observing them from a safe distance. During the morning, Shiho advanced her forces the same amount of distance as Chiyo had lead them the first day. The battlefield, their world, was shrinking. And for each meter they advanced, the scouting party retreated one and a bit. One hour, fifteen minutes. That was their total operation time. It was now seven thirty, and the troops were settling down for the day. In a way, their presence alone served as a deterring factor for any and all potential attacks.

Chouno had briefed her over the radio on the movements of all remaining players. Pravda was yet unaware of the threat because there was no forces to the north. The Italian-Finish alliance was not moving at all. And the Allied Forces were abandoning their base and taking to the road with everything they could carry.

She was torn on how to spend her own day. In an active battle, her role was clear. And before, as a spectator, she had been able to switch between channels and follow the efforts on all fronts. Right now she was, honestly speaking, bored. _I suppose I could get some coffee._

She would never admit it, but she had brought a book with her, anticipating a situation just like this. Considering the size of the work, it also doubled as a weapon in her hands. The latest installment in a war epic that was about the cold war, following world war two. Coffee procured by boiling water on a tank engine and just using it with instant powder was not the best, but she had made do with worse.

Getting comfortable on top of the tank she personally commanded, Shiho started to read, the cup next to her. The uniform she wore was not too hot and not breezy either, making for comfortable – by her standards – wear at these temperatures. Her back resting free, one leg stretched out and one drawn in, her right arm resting on her knee, she kept an iron grip on the eight-hundred page book with just one hand.

Slowly and surely the pages went by and the cup was emptied little by little. Nobody bothered her for over an hour. Not until a certain pest showed up, looking over Shiho's shoulder, audibly grinning. “I despise women that do not tend to their duties.”

“That's cruel, Shiporin. I made sure to formally relegate all duties to my second in command while I'm gone. It's not like we have anything to do!” Shimada Chiyo knelt on the metal roof, propping her up just a little higher than Shiho and letting her easily look over her shoulder. “You wanna go below deck and get lunch?”

“We have rations.” Shiho felt just mildly annoyed for now. It was true that there was nothing to do, and she did like to spend time with Chiyo, but her job came first. “You need to get back to your post. It would be one thing to leave just to see your secret lover if we were both privates. But we are not. Go back.”

Putting her hands on Shiho's shoulders, Chiyo felt that she was serious about that. _She's so tense… is she really that upset that I left my post? I wouldn't have under regular circumstances, but with nothing happening and us just having come back together, I wanted to see her! Although, come to think of it…_ Chiyo sighed. _This is just like her. She always was a stickler for rules and order. She even ratted me out for stealing pudding from the dorm fridge once… Now I'm mad._ “Shiporin!”

Shiho tried to focus on her book, knowing that she was definitely not going to going to get very far today. _Chiyokichi… you haven't changed. You could be just this annoying when we were younger, too. In fact, it looks like you really haven't changed at all. This is not how a grown woman, a mother, the head of the Shimada family! You damn idiot!_

“I still can't read your mind!” Chiyo could see the thoughts rattling behind Shiho's eyes after crawling in front of her.

“I said go back to your post!” _Damn you woman!_

=== Tea and Cola ===

Running past four slow moving tanks, Rosehip kept her eyes peeled for her girlfriend. Keeping pace with the fifth tank, she jumped on top of it, knelt next to the hatch and stuck her head in, looking inside upside down. “[Did Assam come by?]” It was a tank operated by Maginot. Upon seeing the uniforms, Rosehip's thoughts ground to a halt. She didn't speak a lick of French. “[Ah… madmoiselle. Blond. Beauty?]”

The driver was going so slowly that she had time to turned around – and so did the radio operator. They were both pretty black haired girls in “[De quoi parle-t-elle?]” The driver just shrugged at the radio operator, clueless what Rosehip was talking about.

“[Je n'ai aucune idée.]” The radio operator had no idea either.

Before Rosehip could embarrass herself any further, she retreated from the tank, backed away a few steps and made a mad dash – and jumped. The inhabitants of the next tank in line were shocked to her a loud and dull impact sound on top of them. The tank nearly broke formation when the driver was suddenly seeing eye to eye with Rosehip, who was squatting on the front end of the tank, looking through the driver's _window_. “[Have you seen Assam?]”

“[Get out of the way! I can't see!]” The girl inside was from Saunders. “[And no, I haven't seen her!]”

Rosehip climbed to the top of the tank and looked up and down the convoy. Every serviceable tank was there. The protective escorts were spaced away from the convoy itself. Sitting down on top of a crate that was tied to the back of the tank, Rosehip kicked her legs. “[It's almost lunch time and I can't find her at all…]” Disappointed, she fell backwards, lying on the crate, arms and legs sprawling out. The clouds in the sky were sparse – it was a nice day. Pouting for a moment, she strongly shook her head, side to side. Jumping up and nearly falling off the tank, Rosehip clenched her fist. “[Assam Radar… on!]”

“[Assam Radar?]”

Flinging around and losing her balance, Rosehip found herself grabbed by the tall girl from Saunders and pulled back onto the tank. “[You're… Nami!]”

“[So close. Naomi. I got complaints about a Gloriana redhead running about and bothering the drivers so I came over to check on things.]” Naomi stood there with her arms crossed, looking not angry but mildly smug, like she already knew what was going on.

“[I'm just looking for Assam!]” Rosehip was completely oblivious to the smugness.

“[Yeah, yeah. She's much further up ahead, on core ten. You know how to count the core tanks, right?]”

“[The front two are one and two, the ones behind three and four and so forth.]”

“[Yep. If you look in the direction we're driving, the tank to the right is always the smaller number of the pair. You're on core thirty-one right now. Go up twenty tanks and one to the right.]” Naomi nodded towards her back, facing the camp they had left behind and could no longer see.

“[Thanks!]” Rosehip didn't waste any time and dashed off.

Left behind on her lonesome, Naomi returned from whence she came – one of the escort tanks that was manned by Maginot soldiers. She was, essentially, playing hookey. The tank she was **supposed** to be with was four behind. But the girls inside couldn't resist her charm and were covering for her, pretending she was there. The Maginot girls from the tank she came from were doing the same, but for different reasons – they liked to see their commander sweat a little.

“[Je reviens.]” Naomi announced that she was back by opening the hatch and catching a very small glimpse of Eclair fussing over her hair and face with a pocket mirror that she instantly shoved into an empty pocket. _She is so cute. With how much of a burden she's got to carry as commander, she's still acting like a normal girl sometimes._ “[It was just Rosehip looking for her girlfriend.]”

“[Rosehip?]” Eclair needed a moment to parse the name. It didn't help that she felt flustered. _Did Naomi see me stare at my own face?_ “[Red hair and much too many energy? That girl?]” Eclair was sitting in the commander's chair and became three times as flustered when Naomi climbed down and sat on Eclair's lap, sideways. Her legs off down the side of the chair, keeping her back straight by putting her arms around Eclair's neck, Naomi glanced at the radio operator and gunner for a second, putting on her smoothest smile.

Without a word, both those girls blushed and turned away before whispering to each other in rapid French that was completely incomprehensible to Naomi. But she didn't need to. A whisper inside a running tank was normally something you couldn't understand. But with gunner and radio operator having to communicate with each other, they were really more **whispering** than anything else. And as such, Eclair could definitely hear them.

“[Judging by your face, my cherie, they are saying quite a number of things about us.]”

Eclair's face was taking on a lot of color now. “[Tais-toi! Vous embarrassez votre commandant! Salut les idiots!]” Eclair was shouting at them, but her voice cracked every other word and she even fumbled a few of them. Telling them to shut up and calling them idiots was only making them more chatty.

“[You ladies won't mind if I take your commander with me for a little while, will you?]” Leaning in close enough to kiss Eclair she refrained, just teasing her. “[It is lunch time and I am in the mood for… something French.]” Leaving her girlfriend in her seat, her face boiling almost, Naomi crawled back out of the tank, slowly enough so that Eclair could get a good look at her chest, then her legs and finally her panties from below.

Naomi sat outside for a good minute before Eclair reluctantly joined her. “[Was that a little too much?]” Naomi didn't really look at Eclair, who sat down by her side in complete silence. She had her answer when the French girl grabbed her arm, leaning against her. “[You'd never guess we're driving towards a decisive battle when you look at all of this from where we are now.]”

“[We will not lose.]”

“[I'd think so too. They're probably short a commander and that can't be good for morale. We outnumber them, too. But it' their territory. In a few hours it'll get cold and then freezing.]” Glancing to her side, Naomi pulled her arm in a little and Eclair with it. “[Good that I have someone to keep me warm.]”

“[Bon dieu… Tu es terrible.]” What else could she possibly say? _It's like I am a character in a romance novel, getting swept off by feet by a dashing and charming stranger from another country. Just being around her makes me feel special in a completely new way. I usually wouldn't like being the one that is always swept along, but with Naomi…_ “[If one of us dies in the battle that is coming… no, if we both live, what are we gonna do?]”

“[I am like a migratory bird, I go wherever the day takes me. But in all my time, I have never been to France. Maybe it is time to visit the land of wine and beautiful ladies.]”

“[Naomi, my English...]” Eclair didn't really want her girlfriend to be all charming right now. “[I know we're not like Darjeeling and Kay. If you want this to be an adventure during war then...]”

“[Following Kay's example is generally a really bad idea. But maybe it's not that bad this time. I might really just go to France… well, the closest France I can get to. And stay there until my companion is ready to tag along.]” _She's a second year, I remember that much. That means I'll have to delay college for a year… guess I'll work part-time somewhere on Maginot's ship? Kay would be all 'oh yeah, that sounds awesome' if I told her about this. She'd never shut up. I guess mom is gonna be fine but pops is gonna have a fit. Well, the cats been out of the bag for a while now, so at least that isn't gonna bite me._ “[But first lets focus on enjoying this nice day.]”

“[Don't you mean surviving?]”

Turning her head to look right at Eclair, Naomi used her free arm to touch on her chin and lightly direct her to meet her eyes. “[We'll be busy with surviving once the fighting starts. For now, let's just enjoy the company of a fine lady.]” Leaning forward just a little, Naomi shared a kiss with Eclair, the way they sat she hid Eclair's face from prying eyes.

Eclair had little experience – that was to say none – in romantic matters, so it really made her heart beat to kiss openly like this. If one, maybe both, of them could die today or tomorrow, there really was no use in keeping this a secret. And with a closely knit group like they all had become, secrets never stayed such for long. Leaning fully into the kiss, she grabbed Naomi's free hand and connected her own fingertips to those of her partner. Not holding hands but palms touching together.

A slow and gentle kiss became more passionate when fate willed the tank shake a little from driving over a big rock. Their positions shifting, Eclair grabbed hold of Naomi's shoulders and fell in an embrace that did not disrupt their kiss. Only when she thought her heart could take it no more did the French girl back off, the sun shining on her wet lips and her chest moving haphazardly from her quick breathing. “[You Casanova. You are ruining my expectation of women.]”

Naomi chuckled and pushed Eclair's head against her shoulder. Smelling her hair, which smelled of many little things, Naomi exhaled, making the black strands fly across her cheeks. “[And here I had heard that the women of France are headstrong more so than anything.]”

“[I'm the commander of an army! How much more headstrong do I gotta be!?]” Mouthing off with an obviously fake angry attitude, Eclair playfully slammed her forehead against Naomi's sternum and battered her shoulders with soft punches. “[Vous êtes un crétin insouciant!]”

They were not the only ones enjoying some final moments of partnership before it all went to hell. Rosehip had finally found Assam and the two of them were sitting inside a make-shift tent that was covering the top of the tank that Assam had ridden in until a few minutes ago. But unlike others, Assam and Rosehip just sat together, easily mistaken for friends or even just acquaintances.

This was not because Assam wished to steel herself for the battle, or because Rosehip had caused trouble with the other drivers. There was a much simpler, much more obvious reason for that. The redhead was a messy eater. Especially now that they had to eat prepackaged food for every meal this was an issue.

“[We are not the only ones that will use this space for sleeping. Control your eating habits a little, Rosehip.]” Rations was not exactly something Assam enjoyed eating. And there was no more tea to boot. It was really the worst. “[Rosehip, what did I just say?]” Reaching out, Assam swiped a lot of tiny crumbs from Rosehip's uniform. “[What if Lady Darjeeling were to see you like this?]”

“[She'd understand! She knows we don't function well without tea!]” Rosehip was the least affected. She came from a poor family, so tea other than the basic green tea or instant stuff was really something she hadn't experienced until she started attending Gloriana.

“[I know you are incorrigible, so why do I keep trying?]” Assam spied out of the tent, towards the clear sky. _I can already feel that it is getting colder. The other convoy vehicles must be setting up covers soon. With how much cargo we crammed into the tanks we will have people sleeping crowded up on top of the freight tanks. A few more hours until the drivers are cycled out. We are lucky that Maginot and Saunders have a lot of people that are capable of doing more than one thing. In Gloriana we prioritize specialization which ended up being a poor choice._

“[You are going to take over general command once Lady Darjeeling retires, right?]” Rosehip was talking with her mouth full. Seeing a bewildered look from Assam, Rosehip tilted her head and looked bewildered herself. “[What? It's obvious, right? Ranko is capable but she's too nice and she doesn't have the aura of respect. I'm just out. I can't see Rukuriri or Nilgiri step up either. And even if all four of us wanted to be the commander, it'd still have to be you.]”

“[That might be so, but why bring this up now?]” Assam didn't understand Rosehip sometimes.

“[That means if another war breaks out, you'll be the commander. Lady Darjeeling is seeing the commander of Saunders and Eclair… she's kinda a special case.]”

 _Now I see._ “[Me becoming commander once our ladies retires will not affect our relationship.]”

“[You're not gonna break up with me?]”

“[You are not the most beautiful or most talented or smartest of the girls that I surround myself with. But to me, you are still irreplaceable by any of those other girls. To begin with, I pursued you. What folly would it be for me to break up with you after I finally brought you within my arms?]”

It wasn't easy to tell but Rosehip blushed in embarrassment. “[It's still weird to me. I don't have confidence issues or anything! I just think you'd be interested in Ranko or even Lady Darjeeling instead.]”

“[Ranko is… she is nice company, but not in a way or manner that I would want to take her to bed. And our Lady Darjeeling? Respect and admiration would get into the way. With you I can be who I am. I can exert a side of me that I show few people.]”

“[You show a lot of people your angry side when you lecture me. Like during that tennis match.]”

Assam's eyebrows twitched simultaneously. “[That is not what I meant.]”

“[It'll be lonely without Lady Darjeeling around.]”

“[Our service will last only one year longer than hers. I will make sure of that I am not the only one to move on.]” Assam said this with the most obviously threatening smile possible. A very thinly veiled _I am going to make you study like hell_ was hiding behind her comment.

“[I didn't really think I'd be happy with having a girlfriend. Everyone in the army is kinda like that so I figured I must be the odd one out. But the whole thing with holding hands, going on dates and feeding each other tiny spoonfuls of ice cream… I just couldn't see myself doing that and every girl in the army seemed to want that. So I'm glad you're not like that!]”

 _I can't tell if this is a compliment or not. I am sure she means well, but…_ “[I do enjoy holding your hand.]”

Rosehip slid over the metal floor and sat as close to Assam as she could without rubbing shoulders. Taking Assam's left hand into her right, Rosehip raised them both up to eye level. “[So that's exciting?]” She looked king of smug about it.

Assam's mode changed. Her eyes narrowed, her eyebrows lowered and the corners of her mouth turned in that specific way that made the hair on Rosehip's neck stand up. Twisting Rosehip's hand backwards, she forced the girl's arm to the floor slowly – with a bit of pain but not more than a light pinch. The playful kind of hurting another. “[You have been very cocky these last two days, Rose.]” Her voice was lowered than usual and her words had a certain edge to them.

She couldn't explain it, but when Assam looked and talked to her like this, it made her hot. She could feel her skin tingling, and the longer she was being stared at, the more excited she got. Forced to the ground like this, bending backwards and looking up at the one girl she couldn't go against even more so than Lady Darjeeling; it made her horny.

“[What a pity I can't punish you thoroughly. It won't do for Lady Darjeeling to find me exposing… well, exposing your delicious skin, Rose.]” Keeping her pinned down, Assam slowly got on top of Rose, straddling her stomach and then pinning her other arm to the metal as well. “[It's that tongue of yours. That wild, wild beast that I just can't seem to tame. I suppose a whipping would be in order… but you look like you're expecting one, so none for you.]” Tormenting Rosehip like this sent shivers down Assam's back. She really couldn't show her small sadistic streak to anyone. Rosehip was from an impoverished background, so she was the only one in Gloriana whom would be used to something like this. A real lady would just resist with full force.

And Assam knew. If Rosehip wanted to, she could overpower her, easily. She was faster, stronger and she was definitely the type that had experience being in an unarmed fight. That she willingly let herself be dominated, not to please Assam but because it was exciting her, in turn excited Assam. She was **a little** sadistic. She didn't want to really hurt Rosehip. Just punish her a bit. And if that turned her on, all the better. In a way, that was hot in a completely different way.

There was also **that**. The idea that a real lady had to have a dark secret or two. This was hers. Darjeeling's secret was her love for blonde gorillas. As far as gorillas went, Kay was acceptable though. Not too out of control and even somewhat reliable when push came to shove. Assam approved of their relationship, although she did think Darjeeling could do better. But she knew better than to say that out loud, not even to Rosehip.

Darjeeling herself was currently lamenting the lack of everything that was important to her. No tea, no one to tell her strange proverbs to, and most importantly, no Kay. Because of her fighting ability, Kay was the general commander of the tanks at the very front, the tip of the spearhead.

Ranko was much further back in the convoy, Assam was assigned to the second regiment and Rosehip was off somewhere being herself as usual. _I did not expect for Kay's absence to make me feel this lonesome. We did spend nearly every moment together, waking and not. To feel like this… like something is missing, like I am only half dressed. It does make me dread the time we will be apart once this is all over. But first I need to ensure that we achieve victory. Despite our numbers, Pravda is not an enemy we can take lightly._

While Darjeeling spent her time refining tactics and strategy, time came for things to be put in motion when the clock struck two. The dispatched scouts, those that had gone to observe the Imperial Japanese Army, returned, unharmed and with good news. The info spread from tank to tank, transmitted over radio.

The IJA moved only a specific amount, meaning that at least for now, the battlegrounds shrunk the same amount every day. They had promptly moved at six and taken seventy-five minutes to finish their advance, not engaging the retreating scouts. Assam was the one that briefed Darjeeling on this.

The commander had just finished listening to her subordinate's report. She and Assam were on top of convoy tank one, under the cover of a tent, fastened to the top of the tank. Assam stood in front of Darjeeling, who sat on a medium sized box. There was no space for chairs, not even for the commander. “[We still made the right choice. The Axis is too far for a regular dispatch and battle. We would have had to carry barrels to refuel along the way and leave ourselves wide open for ambushes. Like this, we might have as many as three or four additional days before the Imperial Army reaches us, even taking into account half or a full day of rest after defeating Pravda. Now that we have word on the Imperials, there is work for you, Assam.]” Darjeeling didn't like the idea of sending Assam out spying very much but it was necessary. The information brokers were twiddling their thumbs or most likely trying to evade another regiment of the Imperial army.

 _I am glad that I sought out the commander and had the surveillance team lead assigned to someone other than me._ Assam had been assigned to put together a team the day before, the scouts that just returned. Her commander had been a little unclear on whether she was to lead them or exclude herself from the team. _English is quite complicated._ And this time she was getting a much clearer assignment. Hopefully.

“[Am I to scout ahead and observe the activities of the Russians?]” Assam didn't sound hopeful. In fact, her voice was bereft of emotion, just like a real soldier.

“[I cannot trust anyone but you to bring back everyone alive.]” _In trust I do not want to send you, Assam. It is a risk. Losing you would damage morale, but… it would be unprofessional and weak of me to let my personal feelings influence my decision. You have the greatest chance to successfully evaluate the situation correctly and evade detection and capture. More so than losing you or losing seven soldiers, it would be disastrous to give Pravda advance notice of your presence and approach. They will have the upper hand in terrain and area expertise already, we need to utilize our superior numbers to maximum effect._

“[Am I free to assemble a team?]” Assam was able to guess the logic behind Darjeeling's decision. Sending her scouting, observing the Imperial army, was based on similar logic, but her talents were also well used on the base itself. In this case however she was not of much use just riding along with the convoy.

“[Take whoever you need. Take Rosehip with you. I trust her to keep you safe and I trust you to prioritize the safety of your team if she is there.]”

“[We are soldiers. We would die to protect the convoy. There is nothing-]”

“[That is not it. I know you would give your life, possibly enter an impossible situation to evade detection and capture. That is why I want Rosehip to go with you. To heighten how careful you will be. To feel responsible for the girl you like.]” Darjeeling smiled a little. “[I cannot feel at ease with Kay at the front. That is why I know this is for the best. With you gone and her here, not only will worry destroy her, it will also make you reckless.

“[Insights from being with Kay?]” Assam smiled back a little now. “[I feel we share a taste not too different.]”

“[There is a resemblance. Maybe a lady can only be a lady if she has a wild one by her side.]”

“[You make them sound like barbarians. Or pets.]”

“[Wouldn't you think Rosehip might look adorable with a collar?]” Darjeeling joked and smiled wider. “[Make sure to protect your team and return alive.]”

“[Understood.]” Assam saluted and stepped out of the tent, making her way towards the back end of the tank and carefully making a jump – landing on the ground. She was not Rosehip or one of Saunder's crazy physical girls. She would just wait there for her tank and then use the radio in tank ten to put together a team. If she was being honest, she didn't want them to encounter Pravda today. The packing and departure had been exhausting and even a meager rest was better than no rest at all.

With Assam then busy and soon departing with Rosehip by her side, the general atmosphere in the convoy was getting more tense. Battle was approaching, they just didn't know for sure how soon. Naomi had returned to her post after word had spread that the scouts had departed for the Russians. Preparations for the cold were fully underway now. Tents were tied and hooked to the top of the convoy tanks – leaving the effective armada of the tri-nation alliance battle ready.

The convoy managed no more than roughly eight kilometers an hour, which was quite slow, no faster than a really strict march on foot. Evening would set in soon, which spurned the soldiers on to hurry. Kay was the first to notice the changing flora. There were less trees, less grass. And it really was getting colder. _Goddamn I hate the cold. Why do the Russians have to set up so far north? It's like I'm in Hokkaido! Northern edge Hokkaido even!_ “[Any word from the advance party?]” Kay had been asking this question just about every ten minutes. _They left in two Ford M151 MUTT. They should be pretty far into enemy territory now. If they still haven't sent word then that means Pravda must be even further north than we thought. Or could they have mobilized themselves? If they have already been defeated by the Imperial Army, that will be boring, though._

The first instances of snow became visible in the distance at four thirty and tension was at an all-time high point now. Dozens of soldiers were riding up top on the engagement tanks now, doing a final cleaning of their weapons, re-tying their boots, checking their other gear. Kay was all tingly. She was finally feeling the thrill of combat again. _I better make sure to not get myself into too much trouble or my darling Rin will… darling Rin really doesn't sound good. I'll have to go with one or the other._ Losing her train of thought, Kay grabbed her binoculars and peered into the distance. _It's like a frozen wasteland out there. We've been hitting snow here and there but it is really just a world of ice up there. We're not geared up for something like that. It's not really my thing to go looting, but after we beat down Pravda we have to take their winter gear. The dead won't have any use for it. Corpses don't feel cold._

At four forty-five, word came from the advance party. And it was bad news. No, it might even have exceeded just _bad_. It were terrible news. So bad that Darjeeling called Kay and Eclair over to her tank, temporarily halting the entire convoy because a strategy meeting was in place.

Kay was there first and Eclair showed up half a minute later. All three of them sat in the now closed up tent that was covering the top of the Churchill mark seven. It was crowded with three people, but comfort was something they all knew they'd be missing. “[Assam located the encampment of the Russian in the northern most sector, completely out in the open in a snowfield. Even with arctic camouflage it would be difficult to approach due to trails left in the snow. To worsen our position, they are fortified in a square and slant formation.]”

“[Sorry, what does that look like?]” Eclair was not familiar with specific formations of bases.

“[It means they have one line of defense in the form of a square around their tents and what not and then another line of defense shaped like a tilted square. It makes for easy deploying. But it is also easy to infiltrate because of the spaces between both lines and the way things are put together.]” Kay explained without even waiting to see whether Darjeeling would try. “[Don't give me that look, I am still a commander. I trained for this. I do know some strategy!]”

“[Like Kay said, their formation makes it easy for them to deploy their full force. I was expecting them to be battle ready, but the true bad news is not that.]” Darjeeling paused and then put her finger to the metal roof they sat on. “[With how far they are in the north, Assam became suspicious about the involvement of the Imperial Army. Taking a long detour around the Russian base she confirmed that there is no regiment of the Imperial Army in the north.]”

“[So what, they're only coming from the west?]” Kay looked somewhat pissed off about that.

“[I am fairly sure that they are at the bare minimum coming from both the west and the east. The Axis remains a large power, rivaling our own, which is why I believe that at least those two forces are being made to mobilize through the threat of a superior army closing in on their position.]”

“[What about the south?]” Eclair had just a little trouble following the conversation, missing a word here and there. But she got the gist of it.

“[Difficult to say and for the time being it remains not relevant to our goals. But we will have to ascertain the presence of a hostile force in the south or lack thereof in the future.]” Darjeeling hoped that, at worst, it was only the information brokers that were set up back there.

“[So they're just taking it easy up there? Wasn't their commander missing? Whatever happened to our deal with them anyway?]”

“[Based on their lack of communication and the change of circumstances, we will engage them without contacting them first. In the end, there can only be one victorious in war.]”

“[A surprise attack! I like it.]” Kay saw Pravda as a formidable enemy, so all tactics were go.

“[I am going to explain our general approach now that we know their location. Kay, there's a map behind you.]”

Fumbling around behind her butt, Kay found a folded up piece of paper. It was pretty small, all things considered, but otherwise it wouldn't have fit on the floor. “[This?]”

“[Yes. Based on Assam's information, we are still too far to deploy. At the very least we will have to be around this area-]” Darjeeling pointed to a spot that was roughly thirty kilometers away from Pravda's base. “[We will fortify the convoy between the hill and the winter forest that is there. It will severely limited the angles of attack, leaving us opportunity to defend with far fewer forces than normally necessary. As for our attack...]”

=== Tea and Cola ===

It was freezing, below zero degree Celsius. Or as Kay liked to joke, below thirty-two degree Fahrenheit. Though even among Saunders, few knew what that meant. Their uniforms were not made for such temperatures and the metal of their guns was biting on their hands. It was completely dark now – ten fifty-five in the night.

Soldiers were shivering and leaving deep foot prints in the fresh snow. Only those that had lived in Hokkaido had seen weather like this before. Those that came from southern prefectures were taking it especially badly. And to make matters worse, a large portion of them had to be still.

Only thirty-two people, lead by Kay, Rosehip, Assam and Naomi, each commanding a squad of seven, were moving through the night. They could see the bastion of communism against the starry horizon in the dark. Two circles of people, to avoid having to speak up, were formed and all of them crouched down. “[From what I was able to ascertain, the Russian seem to be ignorant of the Imperial Army forcing us and the Axis into motion. Their guard is up as normal, but based on their numbers they are not expecting an attack on the scale we prepared. Alpha and Bravo will function as the main offensive force. Delta will act as an agent of confusion. Omega will secure our retreat and handle communications with the main force.]” Despite Kay out-ranking Assam, the blonde from Gloriana was the best tactical thinker among the four.

“[Listen up. This is not a do-or-die mission. We are the cat that goes right up to the sleeping do and scratches it across the face. We make it bleed, we make it angry, and then we take off.]” Kay's analogy wasn't too great, but it was simple and easy to understand. There was acknowledging nodding from both rings and the soldiers stood back up. They were so far out that Pravda wouldn't be able to spot them, not yet at least.

“[Delta commencing operations.]” Rosehip felt kind of cool saying that.

The twenty-four that stayed behind watched in amazement when the eight from Delta took off, flying across the snow with speed that could have matched even an off-road specialized tank, shooting through the night like owls.

The wind was biting Rosehip in the face, her red hair pushed back by the wind of running. She felt more alive than ever before. The seven under her command were hand-picked from all three armies and only the fastest, most agile soldiers had made it into Delta, able to keep up with their speed obsessed commander.

They closed the three kilometer gap in just a little over six minutes. Sprinting at thirty kilometers, their ragged breathing and icy air was burning their lungs from the inside out with the cold. Drawing their arms – rifles and handguns – the group moved as one, drawing a hard angle into the snow and pressing towards the southern front of the base. Like shadows in the night they soared past the first tank – and opened fire.

The sounds of gun fire came from the south wall and then seconds later from the west and east wall – Delta had split into two. And then it was quiet for just a couple of seconds before gunfire roared from all four directions, surrounding the Russian base. Lights came on in a hurry, floodlights were pointed and captured only shadows at their rim, escaping immediate detection.

Sirens begun roaring and that was the sign. Sixteen more soldiers broke on the first defense line like an angry wave. Four Russian guards were killed in an instant, overwhelmed by the fittest of all the ground forces in the Allied forces.

And then fire was finally opened on the attackers. Machine guns bellowed in the night, orders were shouted in Russian. Soldiers streamed out of the tents, wrapped in thick clothing with fur and heavy caps protecting them from the cold. Bullets were filling the air around the base. Delta lost one – the corpse dragged off by someone from Alpha in an instant.

The assault was causing chaos – the confusion was audible in the voices of the Russian officers. And then the first engine came to live. Not on the base but much further away. And the booming noise of a tank gun being fired echoed through the not so silent night. The southern wall saw the impact of a tank round just meters short of the actual defense line, spraying snow more than fifteen meters into the air.

From east and west together the Allied Forces poured into the base, throwing grenades and wildly firing at everything that moves – destroying tents, lights and life all alike, without discrimination. And then the signal came. A second round fired from far away, impacting the actual south wall and flipping over the standing tank there.

This was all part of their strategy. To attack from all directions first, then draw fire towards east and west to free up the southern defense line to safely fire on it. The first warning shot had also served to deter approach of the vehicles and the defense line. And with the brief shock of a tank being flipped sideways, the Allies retreated.

And the Russians behaved exactly the way that had been predicted. Engines roared all over their base, lights came on and soldier after soldier was manning the vehicles. Radio chatter increased to massive levels, orders being relayed. If Katyusha was still missing, it was not making much of a difference.

Dodging enemy fire to the best of their ability, twenty-five survivors, carrying seven dead, escaped from the Russian stronghold, under fire from what had to be more than fifty armed people, not counting those already inside the tanks. Kay and Naomi were both carrying girls from Maginot that had been shot in the head and the chest respectively. They were both beyond normal levels of being physically able and their were tall. Carrying two short French girls on their backs was not much of a burden.

A number of Russian's tried to chase the escaping soldiers but came under absolutely disastrous levels of being fired on the second they stepped out of their defensive fortifications. The first one to fall was hit by a sniper round in the shoulder so hard that she was taken off her feet and landed backside first in the snow.

Omega was a squad of snipers that had spent the last six hours in the dark – blindfolding themselves during the day to adjust their eyes to the darkness. But even so, it was difficult to hit frantic, moving targets in the dark. Eight snipers took aim and just fired as much as they could, as accurately as the situation permitted. Their goal was not to kill enemy combatants but to buy time so their own people could escape.

Naomi counted the seconds since the retreat signal. _Sixty-seven, sixty-eight…_ “[Empty munition! Leave the guns behind and retreat to the target point once you're out!]”

A hail of large caliber sniper rounds were pelting the gaps between tanks and the tanks themselves, significantly slowing preparations and the advance of the Russians. One by one the tri-country alliance squad was running out of ammo, leaving their guns and making a dash for it, away from the base.

In the distance, Darjeeling gave the order and sixty-six engines awakened from their slumber. Attacking a base with tanks directly would definitely have caused a long and drawn out defensive battle with the Russians and they didn't have the gear to last for so long.

Seven distinct regiments were included in her plan. The first two were now marching towards the enemy base, coming into binocular view of the enemy lookouts within the minute. Snow was topping the vehicles, making it difficult to tell how many exactly were approaching. Darjeeling liked to be well prepared and crush her enemies with an overwhelming advantage.

“[R-1, R-2, forward! R-3, ready on my signal.]” Darjeeling communicated with regiment leaders. She herself was included in R-2, while Kay was likely to join back up with R-1. Eclair was in charge of R-4 and R-5. Alisa was handling R-6 and R-7. Everyone had their assigned role with up to three contingency plans prepared. Darjeeling had ended up with black rings under her eyes, but she deemed it necessary. Pravda was strong and they still needed as much of their force as they could possibly have to fight the Axis.

The first two regiments were numbering twenty tanks each, mostly constituted of heavy tanks from Gloriana and Saunders, a slow but deadly moving force. These forty were their main force, the battering ram. The gate already had holes and was half open, now she just needed to apply brute force.

Having sat in the dark for so long, the drivers were used to it, able to distinguish between just shadows and another tank easily. Advancing in in a reverse arrow head formation, a V shape, both regiments firing at the same time, twenty shells piercing the veil of chaos at the Russian base, devastating the southern defense line.

From what looked like the sides of the base came the enemy, more agile, more capable of navigating the snow and ice around them and better prepared for the cold. Fire was returned, four, then sixteen, then twelve, then ten shots, as the tanks mobilized. Snow was raining down from misses. Three tanks in regiment one and two in regiment two were lost, getting hit by several shells simultaneously, knocked over and sliding over the slippery ground.

A second exchange blew out three of the Russian tanks before they could get into formation and caused only a single loss on the Allied side. Despite the tanks being incapacitated, the soldiers within were not. And they had their orders.

Thirty-five tanks remaining, the allied forces split up, attempting a pincer attack on the single, large consolidated Russian force, coming under heavy fire from the double line formation of the enemy while being unable to fire without having to aim rather precise in the dark, on targets that were moving much faster than expected.

Like a large venomous snake did the Russian army move, turning in unexpected ways and firing even at what should have been blind spots going by how they were moving. There were at least sixty tanks left on the Russian side when the Allied forces was forced to turn around, driving a half circle around the now coiled up Russian formation. Even if they managed to take out the outer line, the inner one could keep firing between the gaps, protected by the corpses, the shed skin of its formation.

Attempting a tactical retreat, withdrawing while laying down cover fire, two more tanks were lost, bringing the total to thirty-three. Moving like a large block, unorganized and seemingly haphazardly retreating, the Russian snake rolled up, taking four triangle formations of fourteen tanks each, leaving behind four corpses.

Hot in pursuit of the enemy force, the Russian reacted with confusion when the Allied formation suddenly broke apart, like gates that swung open, R-1 and R-2 moving in opposing directions, splitting their forces. The Russians hesitated just long enough in who to chase that they noticed something in the distance.

R-3. Six tanks that were racing across the snow like the tankery equivalent of a formula one car. Everything the tank didn't absolutely need was removed and they had built up speed from the distance, anticipating this exact moment. Darjeeling had given their mission a go the moment the Russians coiled up.

Splitting in two teams of three, the incredibly fast, overhauled tanks just shot past the front tip of the enemy formation, opening rapid fire with no aim whatsoever at point blank range on the enemy. Explosions rocketed the Russian formation, taking out six tanks, right in the middle of the snake, forcing the formation apart.

Fifty shots were fired at the enemy too fast to pin down. It was like trying to fire on a mouse with a large caliber shotgun. The soldiers that had previously assaulted the base on foot had retreated all the way back to where they had parked and hidden a motorized vehicle. Not despite but because of the snow and the cold were these six tanks, lead by Rosehip, able to drive the engines much past their intended limit. The snow below the tanks was turned to slush as they raced past.

Dealing with an enemy they couldn't hit threw the Russians off. Darjeeling knew that they would not be able to ignore the pests but they also could not deal with them. So their formation changed to that of a very large slightly angled inwards horizontal line. Like this the enemy tanks had to either resort to firing just at the ones at the far ends or they had to come into full view of the Russian cannons.

And the pursuit continued. Catching up with every passing minute, Pravda was hot on the tail of the fleeing Allies. Deterred by the change in formation from approaching again, the super fast tank group changed its mission from elimination to harassment. This was the first contingency plan that R-3 had been given. No matter how powerful the Russian tanks were, they were limited by the very same thing everyone else was – fuel and ammo.

Rushing past the enemy again and again in a not quite safe but safe enough distance, R-3 drew significant enemy fire, losing one tank on the fourth go by and then another on the seventh. Not only did this slow down the formation's pursuit of the enemy, it also wasted significant amounts of ammo for little gain.

In what seemed a massive mistake, the Allies fled into a dead-end. A series of small hills that bordered a river. They couldn't go through the water and they couldn't drive up the snow ridden hills. They were sitting ducks. Assembling themselves by using the six largest tanks like shields and forming a single massive block with cannons protruding between gaps, the Russians slowed their approach, feeling out the effective range of the Allies. But only sparse firing was used. Almost as if the Allies had used their own ammo too comfortably, sure of their victory ahead of time.

Moving in closer, Darjeeling's next trap sprung on them. Shells were raining down from the hills. Not from across but right on top of them, from within the snow. Spending hours burrowing their tanks in snow atop the hills, R-4 and R-5, ten tanks each, were now firing at a rapid pace on the Russians that had stepped into the trap.

And still Darjeeling was not done. The second the Russians realized their predicament, they attempted to retreat, only to meet with something completely inconceivable. Thirty tanks were closing off their escape route – stacked on top of each other. Fifteen on top of fifteen. An unheard of act of acrobatics on account of the drivers. Even if the Russians were able to damage the tanks and have the time to break down, they could not even attempts to driver over the enemy vehicles.

“[All cannons fire.]” Darjeeling's order came and was instantly swallowed up by over eighty tanks firing on what was now the main force of the Russians, trapped from all four directions. No matter what formation they would attempt to use to protect themselves, fire was coming from above, the front and behind. They had walked right into Darjeeling's trap.

But the fighting was not over yet, even with the Russian's tanks being decimated by the second.

“[граната!]” A Russian girl shouted, warning everyone about a thrown grenade. But those around her were not quick enough to react. In an attempt to save as many as possible, the girl threw herself on top of the weapon and absorbed the blast with her body, giving her life in the process.

Kay had bullets flying past her, leaping over last minute fortifications and slamming her right fist right in the face of the enemy that had been firing at her. There was so much force behind it that she knocked the girl's protective cap off and send the girl sliding over the snowy ground.

Right after the initial attack, the four squads had retreated towards their own force, only to double back and attack the now much less strongly defended base. And every soldier, friendly and foe alike, that had been inside a tank that was knocked out of commission had done the same.

A massive firefight had broken out in the base. Dead bodies were everywhere. Kay had lost two of her own and one girl from Maginot that saved Kay's life from a sniper. Kay had lost her rifle and now picked up the weapon of the girl she had punched out – only to shoot her into the chest thrice and dive for cover.

Pravda had a lot of people, many more than their number of tanks led one to believe. Standing up and firing on the enemy, Kay was tackled with such force that not only her weapon was knocked out of her hand, her breath was taken away too. She couldn't make out who exactly was on top of her, but it didn't matter. Both of them rolled through the snow, trying to gain the upper hand. Kay was amazed that Pravda had someone that could give her so much trouble in hand to hand combat.

Ending up the bottom again, Kay pulled both her knees in sharply and knocked her attacker away. Getting on her feet, just like her enemy, Kay got a good look at her for the first time. A beautiful, tall blonde Russian that was looking like she was made of the snow and ice of the north itself, expressionless and only looking to kill her.

“[Вот и я.]” Jumping towards Kay and draw a knife, the girl took a kick right to the face, crashing right into the snow. Kay was, despite appearances, extremely flexible. Not giving the enemy any pause, Kay stepped up to kick the girl, only to be thwarted by a machine gun having it out for her, separating the Russian girl from her.

Running for safety, Kay was focused sorely on her own fight. She didn't have the luxury to think about Darjeeling, not right now. This was completely different from fighting the soldiers at Viggen. Pravda was several levels above them, down to the last girl.

 _Damn, that girl packs a mean punch. I still can't breathe right._ Kay hoped that she hadn't cracked a rib. Seeing a group of three of her own run past, Kay joined up with them. “[Gun.]” One of them was carrying two rifles.

Without so much as bothering to acknowledge her rank or presence, the gun was handed over and Kay separated from them, jumping on a crate, then a taller crate, and finally a tank and then the tank's top, unloading her magazine into the chest of the Russian that was working the machine gun that had fired on her earlier, judging by the orientation.

Before she could even touch the heavy automated weapon, Kay found herself assailed by the blonde a second time, following her like a hawk that had locked on to its target. But this time she wasn't caught off guard. The butt of the rifle she carried aimed at the girl's head, Kay grinned in a way one could only grin in the face of a powerful adversary. The girl blocked the rifle butt by using one arm, then another to wrestle the weapon from Kay's hands.

Feeling her control slip, Kay abandoned it willingly, dove down and kicked the girl's ankle as hard as she could with her military boots. No matter how strong or immune to pain that girl was, taking a hit like that would knock her off balance. Already in a crouched position, Kay jumped up and tackled the girl, both of them flying off the tank.

And they landed right between a group of five, three Russians and two from Saunders. “[Командир Клара!]” “[Commander Kay!]”

Ignoring the soldiers around them, Kay and Klara engaged in unarmed combat. Kay took a punch to the face, resisting the impact, clenching her teeth and headbutting the girl so hard that she felt the impact all the way to the end of her spine. A knee kick to her stomach caused Kay to fall off, getting on her feet and suddenly rushing one of the Russian girl's, grabbing her handgun from her hip and shooting the other two in the head, holding the third one hostage. “[Give up! Your tanks are all gone!]”

While Kay had taken out the Russians, Klara had killed one of the girls from Saunders and was now pointing a knife to the throat of her adversary's subordinate. “[«Правда» не проиграет!]”

“[Forget about me, commander! She only has a knife!]” As if to prove the soldier wrong, Klara sunk her foot below the rifle the other soldier had worn and kicked it up in the air, catching it with one hand. She was tall, strong and skilled all at the same time. Kay had never fought someone so determined before.

Klara died without warning. Unseen by anyone, Assam had emerged from a tiny gap between tanks, in Klara's blind spot and shot her in the back of her head. “[I will apologize for robbing you of your duel another time.]”

 _She's like an Assassin. If she's gonna take over for Darling, Gloriana will be in good hands. Oh shit, this isn't the time to be impressed._ Kneeling down next to Klara, she grabbed the girl's uniform by her neck and dragged her out of the way. _One day I'll want to fight her again_ , one on one.

Despite losing their tanks, despite losing their commanders, the Russian's fought all the way to the end, down to the last girl.

It was a gruesome result.

On the Allied side, thirty-two people were dead. On the Russian side it was a complete massacre – all two hundred and sixty-three soldiers were killed. Most of them shot dead as they tried to escape the tanks trapped by the Allies in a four way encirclement. The battlefield was stained in death and murder. In large due to Darjeeling's superior tactics and overwhelming usage of force and traps did they win and lose less than fifty people.

The final survivors in Pravda had attempted to set fire to their own base, to prevent it being looted by the Allied forces. But just as they were ready to set the fire, they were killed by Assam. The sudden appearance of Assam wherever she was needed most spread like wildfire among the troops. It embarrassed Kay that her thought was becoming a real thing; people were calling Assam by a funny nickname now; Assamsin. The pronunciation of her name didn't really make sense for that, but that didn't stop people.

The total losses of the Allies were nine tanks and thirty-two battle ready soldiers. The soldiers hurt more than the tanks, Darjeeling felt. She had expected the Russians to surrender when they saw that there was no escape and no hope to survive. Her plan had been meticulous and gone so well that she felt almost disappointed that her contingencies had remained unused. But this feeling of disappointment also felt like she was making light of the ultimate sacrifice that thirty-two brave souls had made. They would never again fight by her side.

After making sure that all the Russians within the trapped tanks had perished, the Allies drove towards the base that was then just finishing up with the last of the Russians. Exhaustion, cold and pain was rampant among the survivors. Kay sat by herself next to the corpse of Klara, who she had dragged out of the snow and inside a tent. For an adversary of that caliber, she wanted to pay her respects. Even though war was a sport of murder, at the end of a long night, she wanted to treat those that impressed her with respect. If only now, in their death, she was able to treat them like people.

It felt morbid, to take the corpses of the people that they had just murdered and drag them beyond the boundary of the base, to where they would leave them. There was no time to dig a mass grave for over two hundred people. It felt even more morbid to give the order to stay within this mostly functioning base for the night. No matter how much the Imperial Army was breathing down their neck, most of the girls simply couldn't go on.

“[Kay, how are you-]” Darjeeling stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the corpse next to Kay on the floor, wearing a Russian uniform. “[Why is she here?]”

“[I have no idea who this is, but I am pretty sure she was a captain or officer or even a commander. I was hoping you'd know. I fought with her and it was pretty tense.]” _Until Assam shot her in the head._

Walking up close to the girl whose eyes were closed – Kay must have had closed them – Darjeeling knew right away who this was. “[One of Katyusha's direct aides, Klara. Her other aide, Nonna, was in command of the tank battalion. We confirmed her death.]” _It was hard. She used two of her own soldiers as human shields in an attempt to escape. She was shot seventeen times in response. The body's condition…_ “[Everyone needs rest. We will salvage everything we can use tomorrow and then depart for the final battle against the Axis after.]”

“[I wonder what I am supposed to do with all of these feelings until then?]” Kay sighed. “[I'm all excited when the fighting starts and I get really pumped up when things get tough, but once it is over all that I'm left with is the aftermath of what we did. Death and suffering. I saw one of my girls crying behind a tent because her girlfriend was one of those that I picked to be in my squad. She died.]” Looking far into the distance, Kay glanced at Klara. “[I'd like to at least bury her, but I don't think I have the energy left for that. I wish I could fight her again some day.]”

“[That is why people in command have to be good people, Kay. Even if we go to war, after the fighting is over, we see that we killed people. They are not just numbers on a report about casualties to us.]”

“[It didn't feel this bad when we fought Viggen.]”

“[It will feel even worse after we defeat the Axis.]” Darjeeling was not giving Kay false hope. “[But at least we can talk to one another about it.]”

“[There is gonna be more death before this is all over.]”

“[Where did all your excitement go?]” Darjeeling sat down by Kay's side, on top of a large box. The cold night air was still flowing into the tent, making her shiver.

“[Sleeping. It's sleeping.]” Now that the adrenaline was leaving her body, Kay felt extremely tired. “[Speaking of which… right?]”

“[We earned our respite today.]” Darjeeling looked at the field bed that had housed a Russian soldier until not even an hour ago. _It does feel… wrong to take their belongings like this. War is never a just matter, but behaving like this… we need to do it to win… do we? The convoy is too far to go there now and it will be an enormous waste of fuel to drive all our tanks back there now. Not to mention that our drivers are all exhausted._

“[Did we lose anyone on the leading level?]”

“[Maginot lost someone. Fondue, Eclair's first aide. She was handling most of Maginot's paperwork.]”

“[Naomi is gonna console her.]” _Finally a use for all that smooth talking_.

Darjeeling leaned back and allowed herself to sigh. “[Tomorrow will be a long day. We cannot afford to fight the Axis during the cover of night. Cheap tactics like an ambush will not work on them.]”

“[It feels weird, for the final battle to come around so suddenly.]” Kay looked to her partner, looking just a little bit smug. “[But we'll win.]”

“[We absolutely will.]”

=== Panzer Halt ===


End file.
